Malum Basium
by swirlheart
Summary: Sequel to Malum Carmen.   Well, Victor and Cedric are back along with the young singer Linnette. Has she truly turned over a new leaf, or is there a secret plot to get Ichigo back under control? Let's find out! Read and Review please!
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Bleach or its characters. The only thing I own is my own imagination. And the OCs Linnette, Victor and Cedric. That's it.

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo. This is just a fanfic. ^^

**Chapter 1:**

It seemed like a relatively normal day. Partly cloudy, the sidewalk damp from morning rain and people walking around with their own schedules. Ichigo was one of them. School had let out and he was on his way home. He had planned on getting something to eat with his friends but they all had places to be, leaving him all alone. He didn't mind too much. It gave him plenty of time to think.

He got to the base of a steep hill and looked up. He hated this hill. But it was the shortest way home. He took in a deep breath and started hiking. When he got to the top, he was stopped by a man in an orange coat.

"Sorry, kid. Construction going on here. No one's allowed to pass."

Ichigo looked past the man and saw workers standing around talking and holding tools and coffee cups. He frowned. _A lot of work getting done here, all right._ A jackhammer started going, forcing the man in front of him to talk louder.

"Take that road, kid. It's a detour."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks." He turned and went up the other road. Another long hill. This one was packed with children. He dodged soccer balls and kids on bikes as he passed. It was a winding road, with twists left and right. It was a longer way home, and he couldn't take a shortcut through any yards on account of all the fences and brick walls.

He made another turn and kept his eyes down as he walked. This hill was steep. He took long strides to get up the hill faster. This was a workout. One step after another. Another step. Another.

Another step and he hit something. It felt like a body. The hit was so hard, it made him drop his bag on the ground. He took two steps back. "Oh, I'm sorry. My fault."

"No, no. No fault. Didn't feel a thing."

That voice. He looked up. His jaw dropped.

Standing in front of him was a slim, blond man wearing a white suit. His cold yet loving eyes following his every move. Seeing his face brought back memories. Terrible memories of Hollowfied human beings, being held against his will and blackmailed.

"Victor!" He took out his Soul Badge and attacked in Soul Reaper form.

The man jumped back. "Whoa! Wait a minute."

Ichigo swung his sword repeatedly, never giving him a chance.

"Stop it! What did I ever do to you?"

"Yeah, like you don't know!" Ichigo swung again. "You work for that singer girl who can control Hollows with her voice! You created a serum that can turn people into Hollows! You kidnapped me and forced me to serve her! Yeah, you never did anything to me or anyone else, huh? You even attack Rukia and my friends! Like hell, you didn't!"

"Wait, wait, stop!" Victor ducked Ichigo's sword again. "I don't want trouble. Let me explain!"

Ichigo didn't give him the chance. That is until Victor's hand shot out and grabbed the end of his blade and held it in place.

"That's better. Now…"

Ichigo punched him. Victor's head was frozen in the position the blow had put him in. Then he turned his head back.

"That was rude…"

He punched him again.

"Listen to me. I'm not the Victor you knew back then. Ok?"

"Ha! Tell me another one!"

"No, it's true. Yes, I am Victor, but I'm not that Victor." He released Ichigo's sword and stood back, rubbing his jaw. "That kind of hurt a bit. Anyway… Linnette lost her voice. We vanished when that happened. Her powers were gone. But some were restored so she created us again. New versions. You might call me Victor 2.0. I'm not that Victor. That was the old one that did those things. I'm not him. I've been recreated."

"Why?"

"She still needs us around to help her. She's all alone after all. No family. She recreated us-"

"So Cedric's back, too?"

He nodded. "Yup. New Cedric. As I was saying… Listen, Ichigo. I'm not the Victor you knew. I'm a different person. A changed man. I need you to understand."

Ichigo lowered his sword, but didn't put it away. "Start talking. Why did you come back? Why did she recreate you two?"

Victor looked relieved. "She was alone again, Ichigo. All alone. No family, no money. And no friends. She wished with all her heart for us to return. But there was a change in her heart. Now she wanted us to be different. She wanted us to come back, but to change as well. She wanted to know what it was like to have real friends. Friend who she didn't have to blackmail in order to keep around. But she needed someone to teach her how to do that. So when she wished for us to return to her, in her heart she also wished for us to teach her such things. She created us to teach her how to be a good person and make real friends without the need for cruelty. So we were reprogrammed, if you will, to do just that."

"So let me get this straight…" Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "She created new versions of you to raise her right? 'Cause before you were all about her being a brat and never letting her grow up. You wanted to give her everything she wanted, no matter what. Now you're done with that?"

He nodded. "Yes, that's correct. You're words sunk deep, Ichigo."

"Me? My words?"

"Yes. Whatever you told her struck a cord with her. Now she wants to change so that no one will ever leave her again. She doesn't want to go through that again. And she wants to be happy. Now our job is to bring her up to be a good person and make real friends. Now we can go against her wishes if its in her best interest. Now we only want what's best for her, not whatever she wants to make her happy. We're to be her parents in a sense."

Ichigo didn't fully believe him, but he liked what he said. It made sense. "So now you're going to… what, parent her and raise her properly like I've been saying since day one? Took you long enough. But how can I really believe that? You could be lying to me."

"I could, but I'm not. In any case, it doesn't matter. Though we've returned, her voice has not."

"What?"

"She still can't sing, Ichigo. She lost her voice that night. She'll never be able to control a Hollow again. So even if we were up to something, what could we do? Her power's gone, her voice is useless now. What would be the point or reason?"

He believed him. "I guess you have a point."

"Cedric and I are here for her. I am responsible for her happiness and Cedric protects her. We're both there for her and will take care of her and teach her. That's how it is. And if you don't believe me, you can see for yourself."

"Huh?"

"Yes. That's why I'm here. She's playing with the children on this block."

Ichigo looked around. This blocked was filled with young children. But he couldn't find Linnette anywhere. Or Cedric. But why would Victor lie about something like that? He must have been telling the truth.

Just then, a baseball hit him in the face. "Ow!"

"Sorry!"

He looked up and saw a little boy running towards him with a baseball glove. Ichigo handed him the ball back. The boy ran back to his friends and continued to toss the ball around. Another child ran past him, chasing after their friend on a bike. There was a small group of girls playing in a yard not too far away. They were running around, chasing each other. One ran into the street and the others followed. The same baseball from before rolled across the street, bouncing off the sidewalk and rolling down the hill. The boy chased after it. Another boy on a bike peddled up the hill with his friends close behind. Everyone was everywhere.

"Car!" A boy called and the children fled the street. Everyone stood on the sidewalk, watching it pass, holding their playthings in their arms. As they started to take their first steps back into the street, another car zoomed by, causing them to back up. The kids looked both ways before going back into the street to play. Once sure that it was safe, they resumed their games.

That was when Ichigo spotted her. She was one of the girls running across the street, chasing the boy on the bike. She had grown up a bit. She wasn't much taller than the last time he saw her and she had the same hair style as before. She was wearing a skirt and a blue top. She ran around the street barefoot, chasing the boy on his bike. She made several grabs for him, but didn't seem too concerned about catching him. She was just in it for the chase. So were the other kids.

Just then, Cedric, dressed in a T-shirt and blue jeans, came running into the street holding up Linnette's sandals. "Linnette! Put your shoes on! You'll get hurt."

She stopped running for a moment to call back to him. "Relax, Cedric. They kept falling off."

"You have to wear shoes when you go outside."

She ignored him and went back to her game. As she chased the bike, the boy cut a corner too close and accidentally ran over her foot. She cried out in pain and hopped up and down holding her foot.

Victor immediately abandoned his place in front of Ichigo to race to her side, his caring, protective instincts taking over. Cedric did the same. But they were beaten to it by the local kids. The boy on his bike jumped off and rushed to her side. The other kids crowded around. One girl took her hand and tried to lead her over to the sidewalk. Another girl asked if she should get her mother for help. A boy bent down in front of Linnette and carried her on his back over to the sidewalk. They sat her down and took a look at her injury. Cedric and Victor were having a tough time getting to her with the thick crowd of children.

One of the girls took a look at her foot. Her toes were muddy and red but there was no blood. "I think you just got pinched. It doesn't look too bad."

"I'm really, really sorry!" the boy with the bike apologized. "I didn't mean to. Are you ok? I'm so sorry."

"Should I get my mom? She can give you a Band-Aid."

"I think she's ok. It was just a pinch."

"Are you ok? Does it hurt?"

Linnette didn't shed a single tear. She seemed happy to have all these kids surrounding her and showing concern for her. She smiled at them. "I think I'm ok. It doesn't hurt that much anymore."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's ok."

"I mean it. I'm really, really…"

"It's ok! Really. You don't have to say it anymore."

The boy looked back at the bike in the street. "I know. I'll let you ride my bike. I'll give you a turn."

Linnette smiled wider. "Ok! Thanks." She stood up. All the kids stood up with her, still worried about her.

"Linnette," Cedric said. "Do you really think…"

"I can. I'm ok."

"Don't push yourself."

"I'm ok, Cedric. Don't worry so much." She stood the bike up and got on. She started peddling and soon, the other kids joined in, chasing after her and laughing. She circled in the street, having a great time.

Ichigo watched her, completely lost. He knew that Linnette wasn't genuinely evil or anything. She just wasn't taught anything and told that no matter what she did, it was ok because it made her happy. But seeing her like this was strange. She was the same child as before, acting carefree and innocent, but she seemed less dark. Were they really different people? Was this a whole new and improved family picture he was seeing?

No, it couldn't have been that easy. They must have been up to something. She was so desperate for friends and accompaniment that she even went so far to kidnap Ichigo. She threatened his family and his friends. She could control his Hollow and all the Hollows around them. Was it really that easy for her to change so quickly?

He stood there watching them play until Victor called for his little girl. "We're going to get dinner soon. Please come along, Linnette."

"Ok!" She hopped off the bike and ran over to him. Cedric came up behind her and lifted her up. He sat her on his shoulders, holding onto her hips. Victor stood in front of them, holding her shoes. Grabbing her ankles, he slipped them on one at a time.

"You really should wear your shoes, sweetie. You'll hurt yourself again."

"But they're sandals. They'll fall off."

"I can buy you others that won't. You can wear the ones that have a back to them. Those won't fall off." He checked her foot. The redness had faded. "You seem fine now. Does it hurt?"

"Nope. Not at all. Told you it was just a pinch."

Victor smiled and turned, leading the way. "Come. You must be hungry. Where would you like to go?"

"Eat out?"

"Did you want us to cook for you instead?"

"I don't mind. We can."

They started to leave when Ichigo suddenly called out to them. "Hey, wait!" He didn't know what had caused him to shout, but he did.

They turned. Linnette, having spotted Ichigo for the first time since that night she had lost her powers, waved to him happily. "Hi, Ichigo! Long time, no see! How have you been?"

Ignoring her, he looked to her two servants. "You two… How do I know that all of what you said is true? You could be puling my leg."

Victor didn't look too surprised to hear him say this. "You still on about that? I told you, we are different now. We are what she needs, not so much what she wants."

"But you are, aren't you? You're here because she wants you and because she needs you. Isn't that right?"

Cedric and Victor looked at each other. "Very true."

"Then how do I know that I can trust you? How do I know that this won't happen again?"

He was referring to, of course, Linnette's song and her ability to control Hollows. The destruction that happened last time could very well happen again. And now they had returned to the place where it all started.

"I told you before. She no longer carries that power."

"But you two are here."

"Yes," Victor admitted. "But that's because she wished it."

"How do I know that she won't do that with her voice, either? Wish it back."

Once again, they exchanged looks. This time Cedric spoke. "I don't think it works that way."

"Besides, we're not hurting anyone."

"Then why did you come here?"

Victor smiled. "To visit, of course. She liked this town very much. We were passing through and came across these children so she decided to stay and play for a while."

"Oh, really?" Ichigo found that hard to believe.

"No, it's true."

"How can I trust you?"

Victor took a step towards him. "Then see for yourself. Come join us tomorrow in the park. We'll prove to you that we are not the same Victor and Cedric you once knew. We have improved, all three of us. And if you don't like what you see, then you were right and can go from there. Ok? Will that work for you?"

Ichigo gave it some thought. It did seem very reasonable. He would watch them for a day and see how things went. If she displayed some of her old antics, then he would know that it was a lie and that they couldn't be trusted. And if they were…

"Alright. I will."

"Great!" Victor clapped his hands together. "Then we'll meet in the park around noon. Good with you?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Great." Victor turned. "Say good-bye, sweetie."

Linnette waved at the other children and to Ichigo. "Bye, everyone! See you!"

They waved back cheerfully, but Ichigo just watched them go down the steep hill, Linnette safely on Cedric's shoulders.

_Damn… Is it too much to ask for a normal day around here? _


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Ichigo couldn't sleep that night. He was too concerned about the situation. Linnette, the songstress who could control Hollows, was back. Back with her two invincible bodyguards. This wasn't good. The last time they were here, Ichigo had attacked his own friends and many people had turned on their own families. Victor had even created a serum that would turn human beings into Hollows when they heard her song. Was history going to repeat itself now that they returned? He couldn't allow it.

He absolutely wouldn't allow them to kidnap him again and force him to be her lapdog either. He was going to make sure of that.

"What do I do?"

He stared at the dark ceiling, thinking.

"Ok. I'm going down there to check things out. That's all. If she's up to her old tricks again, then I'll act on it. If not…"

Then again, it wasn't her that was bad, just her upbringing. She was taught to be that way. Now that she wanted to be brought up correctly, perhaps Ichigo truly had nothing to worry about. Maybe they were raising her right this time around. There was only one way to find out for sure.

* * *

><p>Ichigo walked to the park shortly before noon. He wanted to be early, just in case they were putting on an act and caught them behaving like the old days. He walked along the thin sidewalk looking for them. They never told him where exactly they would meet, leaving him to search.<p>

He came across a small playground with swings and a sandbox. He saw Victor sitting on a bench near the sandbox, a small leather bag at his side. The bag was covered in a floral design, far too feminine for a man to carry. It must have belonged to Linnette, meaning that she was close by.

Sure enough, there she was. The young girl was playing on the jungle gym with Cedric following her every move. She had climbed all the way to the top in her short skirt and knee socks. She stood up tall, looking around from her unfamiliar perspective.

"Linnette, you'll hurt yourself," Cedric warned. "And people can see up your skirt."

"No one's around, Cedric. Would you relax." The wind blew, making her feel unsteady and she knelt down on one of the bars. That's when she spotted Ichigo. "Hi! Ichigo, over here! Hello!" She stood back up, but only to jump down.

Cedric reached forward and caught her as she came down. She didn't stick around for a lecture and ran to Ichigo.

"Did you find us ok? You're early."

Nothing amiss here. She was just acting like a normal child. "Yeah, I found you guys fine."

She grabbed his arm. "Come play with us. It's fun."

"That's ok. I'm fine here."

"Aw, that's no fun. Come on!"

Ichigo allowed himself to be pulled over to the jungle gym where Cedric gave him his usual greeting, narrowed eyes and all. Cedric wasn't the most pleasant person to be around, but he was very concerned for Linnette and her safety. Always had been. That hadn't changed. He still saw Ichigo as a threat. But he mellowed out once Linnette started a new game with him.

They played several games together. Never paying any attention to the possible danger, Linnette tried to jump from the jungle gym over to the monkey-bars. A jump that was over ten feet away. Even Ichigo was concerned about her this time. She made the leap, missing by several feet. Both Ichigo and Cedric made a grab for her, resulting in the two colliding with one another, Linnette landing on top of them. She laughed and begged to do it again. Rubbing his bruised nose, Ichigo declined. Cedric gave him a strange look as if he were surprised by his actions as well as suspicious of them. Did he not understand why Ichigo had tried to prevent Linnette from hurting herself or what?

Sometime during their play, Victor had snuck off somewhere. Ichigo wanted to know where, but wasn't given the time to ask. Linnette wanted to do more.

After an hour of play, Ichigo had had enough and wanted to sit down. Too engrossed in her game to care, Linnette never argued and continued to run around. Ichigo took a seat on a bench by a tall hedge and observed his surroundings. It was a nice day, even though it looked like rain.

Ichigo watched as Linnette played with Cedric in the park. She looked so innocent as Cedric pushed her on the swings. But Ichigo knew better. After what he had seen, it was hard for him to believe that she had truly changed her ways.

_Turned over a new leaf my ass_, he thought to himself. He was watching her closely, waiting for her to show her true colors again.

But maybe he was going about this all wrong. After all, it was just her upbringing that made her seem like a bad person. She wasn't really evil. These two just spoiled her rotten and told her that she could have anything she wanted and could do nothing wrong. Now that they were stepping up and acting more like parents to her maybe she really was different.

_Maybe I should just give her the benefit of the doubt and see how this goes. Maybe she really is better now than she was then_. Ichigo sat on the bench, watching them play, deep in thought.

Then a small boy kicked his ball too high and it landed in Linnette's lap. Her swing slowed to a stop and looked toward the boy running up to her. Cedric took his protective stance beside her as he usually did as if he expected the six year old to pull out a gun or something.

"Sorry about that, miss," he said, holding out his hands. "Can I please have my ball back?"

Linnette looked at the ball and then at Cedric. He nodded and she handed it back to the child with no confrontation. The boy took it and ran back to his mother. Linnette smiled at Cedric and he patted her head.

_Ok_, Ichigo thought. _So that was pretty nice of her. I mean, normally there would have been a scene or something. Maybe she really is a better person_.

"Looking for trouble, Ichigo?"

He turned around and saw Victor standing behind him with a paper bag.

"I keep telling you that there is no problem. After all, it is thanks to you that she can no longer sing. So if you're waiting for a swarm of Hollows to show up, don't hold your breath."

Ichigo turned away. "No."

"Very well, then. If you'll excuse me, it's lunch time." He walked towards the two by the swings. "Lunch, sweetie."

They gathered around a park bench, ready to dig in. Victor took out a large sub sandwich and a bag of mini donuts. Linnette made a grab for them first but Victor held them back.

"Nu-uh. After your sandwich."

She pouted but agreed.

Ichigo watched in amazement as the foot-long sub disappeared in a matter of seconds. She always did have an appetite. As promised, Victor handed over her treat. The donuts, too, disappeared quickly. She washed it down with a water bottle given to her by her guardian. Soon after, she was looking forward to playtime yet again. Cedric took her for a walk to work off the meal before doing any fast moving activity like she wanted to do. Soon they were back on the playground, playing tag and going on the merry-go-round. She really did look like a good kid.

She really could have a good life without being a diva and all the discipline of a normal lifestyle. Maybe this was just what she needed. Perhaps she wasn't going to do anything. Perhaps she really had changed, just like her created family. She seemed so happy and no stage was in sight.

Ichigo allowed himself to smile a little. She was growing up into a good person. This girl wasn't a hopeless case after all. Maybe believing in people's best wasn't such a fairytale after all.

Soon, Linnette's energy had run low and she sat on the ground panting. "I'm done. I wanna go now."

Cedric nodded and picked her up. She clung to his shoulders as he piggybacked her out of the park. Victor followed, grinning.

He was grinning. That same old grin as before. Victor's grin.

Frowning, Ichigo got up and followed them. Maybe she was good, but what about them? They could still be up to their old tricks.

That's right! It was Victor who turned all those people into Hollows, not Linnette. He hadn't told her about the serum he created. That was all his doing. She had no idea. Perhaps it wasn't Linnette he should be worrying about but them instead.

He followed them to a hotel near the park. Cedric and Linnette went in, but Victor remained behind. Without turning, he addressed Ichigo. "Why are you here?"

Ichigo didn't answer him.

"You still don't trust us? Aren't you satisfied yet?"

"I don't think she's evil. I realized that a while ago. She just was being brought up wrong."

"And now?"

Ichigo thought. "It's a lot better than before. But I'm still not sure about you guys."

Victor turned. "Oh?"

"Yeah. How do I know that you've really changed? You say that you're different, but how do I know for sure? You could be putting on an act yourself. You're Victor 2.0, huh? Well, that means that you're still Victor."

He smiled as if he were proud that Ichigo had thought of the answer on his own. "Is that right? Then I suppose we could see more of each other, hm? Then again, we're not going to be here for very long. We're only visiting Karakura Town for a little while. We're not staying. In a few days, you won't have to worry about us anymore."

_Yeah, unless they're gonna pull something somewhere else where I'm not gonna be around to stop them_. He had to solve this now before it came to that.

"What's with the look, Ichigo? Have I said something?"

Ichigo turned away.

He chuckled. "Linnette does like you, you know. She will want to see you again. I hope you realize that."

"Whatever."

"Then you're fine with that?"

"I never said that. It would just make keeping an eye on you guys a lot easier."

Victor smiled. "Whatever you say, Ichigo. In the meantime, I have a child to tend to. Pardon me." He gave Ichigo a dramatic bow as if mocking him and went inside the hotel.

Ichigo glared at him the whole time and finally turned and left for home once Victor was completely out of sight.

* * *

><p>Victor rode the elevator to the fourth floor and got off, walking past several maids and passersby in the long carpeted hall. He arrived at the door and inserted the room key. He found Linnette jumped on the bed, hopping from one to the other in the small hotel room. Cedric stood nearby, spotting her. Once she spotted Victor, she threw her legs into the air and allowed herself to fall onto the mattress and bounce to a stop.<p>

"Victor! What took you?"

"Sorry, my dear. I was talking." He sat on the bed beside her and welcomed her into his lap. "Did you have fun today?"

She nodded. "I had a great time! It was tons of fun. And Ichigo was there the whole time. He never left or anything. It was great."

"Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself."

She retold everything they did that day, sparing no detail. She bounced off his lap and acted out various things around the hotel room. She climbed onto one of the beds and jumped to the other, imitating what she had done on the jungle gym. Cedric and Victor both smiled at her antics, happy that she was happy.

Later that evening, after they returned from dinner, Linnette had her shower and asked Victor to tuck her in. He helped the nightdress-clad girl into bed and tucked her in. But she was still excited. He sat with her, rubbing her arm tucked under the blankets.

She moved her head a little closer to him. "Know what? Ichigo didn't leave me all day."

Victor nodded.

"I didn't do or say anything to make him stay. He actually stayed with me on his own. And we had fun."

"You're fond of him, aren't you?"

She nodded, blushing slightly. "Yeah."

Victor smiled. "Shame you can't see his better half, isn't is?"

Her smile went away. "Better half?"

"His Hollow. You like him a lot, hm?"

"No. Ichigo."

He looked down. "Hm?"

"Ichigo. I really like Ichigo."

"But before you told us that it was his Hollow that you cared for. Ichigo was just the package."

She looked down, thinking. "Well… Actually, I said I liked him more because he was the one who wanted to be with me. He was the one who liked me. Ichigo kept trying to get away. I never said I didn't like him. I do. But at the time, I liked his Hollow more because he did what I wanted and cared about me. Not Ichigo."

"Indeed?"

She nodded. "But Ichigo cares, too. I know that now. He just… wanted me to be better. He wanted me to be happy without having to control people and keep them locked up."

"I see…"

There was a long silence. Then she spoke again.

"I really do like Ichigo. He's a good friend."

Victor stopped rubbing her arm. Their eyes met. "Sweetie… Do you ever… miss it? You're voice?"

Linnette gave it some thought. "A little. Yes. I do like singing, but…" She covered her face with the blanket. "It's all gone now."

"If you could, would you like it back? Would you ever like to sing again?"

She poked her head out to meet his gaze. "Well… yeah. I would."

Victor gave her a bittersweet look and kissed her forehead. "Well, that's nothing to think of right now, is it? Time for bed."

She rolled over. "Good-night."

"Good-night, sweetie."

Cedric came over and kissed her as well. "Sweet dreams."

* * *

><p>Let's see where this leads us, shall we? Please review! ^^<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Thursday. Ichigo didn't favor this day of the week anymore than he did the rest. However, he hated today even more than the others because of the surprise test their teacher gave to them. The test was a killer. But Ichigo was sure that he passed. Maybe not with flying colors, but it was enough. Now it was time for the class lecture. Everyone took out their notebooks and started copying down the notes.

All was quiet but the teacher until there was a knock on the door. The curious students looked up. A staff woman from the main office got the teacher's attention with a wave of her hand. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have a summons for a student in this class down to the main office. Is Ichigo Kurosaki here?"

All eyes fell on him.

He automatically knew what this was about and felt the urge to jump out the window and have Kon deal with it in his place. But he decided not to.

"Yes, he is." His teacher pointed at the door with her book. "Ichigo, please go with her and try not to be too long. Pop quiz next week on this material."

"Yeah, yeah, got it." He stood up, following the woman out. He could hear class resume as he followed her down the hall.

They went down several stairs and onto the main floor. "Ah, there he is." The staff woman pointed to a man in a white suit waiting for them in the hall just outside the main office. Victor. The woman went up to him and gestured to Ichigo. "I brought him to you, just as you wanted."

"Thank you very much." Victor gave her a charming smile. "I'm sorry to trouble you like this. You must be so busy, working hard. I really do appreciate this."

"Think nothing of it. It's my job. Just don't be too long, ok? He still has classes."

"Of course." They waited until she went back into the office before they spoke.

Ichigo spoke first. "Ok, what the hell?"

"What do you mean?"

Ichigo went up closer to him, keeping his voice low, but full of fury. "You know damn well what I mean. Showing up at my school like this. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to give you an invitation."

"Huh?"

"Yes. Linnette would like to see you again."

He didn't buy it. "Why are you really here?"

"I just told you why."

"I don't believe you."

Victor chuckled. "Really… Sometimes you can be too paranoid. I just came here to tell you that Linnette wants another play date with you. That's all."

Ichigo folded his arms, not buying a word of it.

"What's with the look?"

"Why would she want to see me?"

"She's fond of you, Ichigo. Believe it or not, you're actually the first person who cared about her aside from us and not for her voice. You cared enough to make her want to change herself for the better. She likes you. Why is that so hard to understand?"

"That's not the part I'm having difficulty with."

He sighed. "Look… We're going to be in town for a few more days, then we're leaving. Alright? During that time, Linnette would like to spend it with you."

Ichigo kept his eyes on Victor the whole time, silently telling him that he didn't trust or believe his story for a single second.

"Still? You still don't believe me?"

"There's something you're not telling me, now what is it? Tell me right now or I'm going away."

Victor smiled. "It's true that Linnette would like to see you again, but I am leaving something out."

"Tell me. Now."

His smiled widened. "How would you like to go on a date with Linnette?"

This he wasn't expecting. "What? Why?"

"It's as I said before. She likes you a lot."

"No, I meant why would I go on a date with her? She's too young for me! She's, like, twelve!"

"Thirteen ," Victor corrected. "What's the big deal? You're fifteen, aren't you? That's only a two year age difference."

"I'm sixteen, now."

"Congratulations. Now, about the date…"

"I'm not dating her! She's too young for me! It would be like dating one of my sisters. I'm not doing it."

Victor looked disappointed, but also satisfied, as if he had expected this from him. "That's a shame. It would be a good why to prove to yourself that we really have changed. Being with her, and all…"

"I can do that without a date."

"Not if you want to see if she can handle disappointment, you can't."

Now he was confused. "Huh?"

"Think about it. Linnette is a fragile being. She's not used to being told 'no' since we came along. We always give her everything she wants. Now, we've changed. But has she to the point where she won't react to being turned down? Hm, troubling…" Victor ran a hand through his hair. "You see, you have to prove to her that she can be happy without need to resort to force. If you go out with her, it'll show her that people will be willing on their own to be with her and that good things really will happen to her."

"But I'm not willing, am I?"

"Only as willing as you decide to be. I mean, I'm not forcing this on you. It's still your choice. And we won't be in town for very much longer. You're missing your chance to put us to the test."

It was painful to admit it, but Victor was right. This could be his only chance. What if she did revert back because of too much disappointment? Then it would be all his fault. He could swallow his pride just for one night, right?

"Think about it. Tomorrow's Friday; I'll have your decision then, alright? Sleep on it. In the meantime, you have a class to get to, don't you?" Victor turned and walked away, leaving a stunned Ichigo behind.

* * *

><p>Ichigo didn't sleep well that night. He lay awake thinking about what he was going to do. It seemed like a no-brainer. But he had to chose carefully. He rolled over and went to sleep, his decision made.<p>

The next day, he went to school just like any other Friday and attended class. At dismissal, he walked to the gate just like any other afternoon. Only today, a black car was waiting for him. He stood, stunned, but not all that surprised at the jaguar. What didn't surprise him was the man standing beside it. Leaning against the side of the car was Victor in his usual suit. He smiled at Ichigo and stood up straight.

"Have you made your decision?"

Ichigo looked at his distorted reflection in the car's side. "Yeah."

"What's the verdict?"

Did he really need to say it? Swallowing his pride, he turned to the older man. "I decided to tag along with you guys until you leave my town."

"Your town, huh? A little western, don't you think, Ichigo?" Victor smiled with a faint chuckle. "Very well. You'll be joining us, then."

"Only on the condition that I can leave whenever I damn well please and that I'm not going to be kept with you guys against my will _and _that I am by no means a part of your group. I'm just hanging out with you three for observation purposes. Got it?"

"That's a long condition…"

"Do we have a deal?"

Their eyes challenged each others, until…

"Deal, Ichigo. It's a deal." Victor extended his hand out for Ichigo to shake. Reluctant at first, Ichigo reached out and shook Victor's hand, sealing the deal. "Welcome aboard. Climb inside."

Victor opened the back door to the car, welcoming Ichigo into the clean, polished leather back seat. Taking a deep breath, Ichigo climbed inside, ignoring the stares and odd looks he was receiving from the other students. He must have looked like a rich celebrity on his way to meet the press or something in their eyes. Ichigo was certain that the trio had traded in their limo for a more practical car for a regular family. Though how a jaguar was a normal family car was beyond him. Perhaps Victor was having a hard time letting go of his flashy, sophisticated side. Either that or Linnette simply wanted to stand out some more.

They rode back to the hotel, Victor driving in silence the whole way. They parked in the side lot and went inside. Ichigo didn't speak to him the whole time. They went up to the fourth floor where Linnette was surely waiting for them. Victor slid in the room key.

"Darling, look who I brought!"

Linnette came running and launched herself into Ichigo's chest. "I knew you were coming! I just knew it! See, Cedric? See? Told you he'd be back."

Cedric didn't look nearly as thrilled as the young girl attached to Ichigo's torso. He actually looked pretty unhappy. Then again, Cedric never really did care for him in the first place.

Linnette welcomed Ichigo inside and showed him around. She held up all the stuffed animals and trinkets she had gotten on small shopping sprees in town over the past day. She pointedly told him that they were going back for more before they left for home. She showed him the new hair brush she had gotten as well. Ichigo was about to ask her where they had gotten all this money from, but then remembered that when she had created these two, she had created them to be very well off without being rich (though very close). Of course they could afford all this stuff.

Linnette held up three book for Ichigo to look at, telling him that Cedric had bought them for her. Ichigo recognized two of them fairly quickly. They were books written for younger children, not a young teenage girl. The third book, however, was for teenagers. It was a light novel and judging from the cover page, it was intended for young girls.

Victor called Linnette to the door and helped her put her shoes on. She was very excited to be going out again, especially with someone other than her created companions. Ichigo already knew that without having to be told. She must have been lonely with only them around all the time.

Ichigo took a step forward, but Cedric was blocking him. He gave Ichigo a challenging look, as if to dare him to try something. So Ichigo averted his gaze back to the books on the bed. "So, uh… you bought her those, huh?"

Cedric nodded. "Yeah."

"Nice choices…" He was just trying to make conversation. Nervous conversation. "But don't you think those books are a little young for her? I mean, those two."

Cedric didn't answer.

"But that one's nice. The novel."

"We read that one to her. Then she rereads it on her own."

"Oh. Why's that?"

"She doesn't like reading very much. She tries to avoid it if she can."

"Really. Is it because she's too lazy to do it, doesn't like it in particular or what? I mean if she has all these books, why would she hate reading?"

"Because she has a learning disability," Cedric explained.

Ichigo wasn't expecting this. He wasn't sure how to answer. "Oh."

"She has trouble with reading comprehension. The other children made fun of her for it and called her stupid. Teachers just thought that she was stubborn. No one ever bothered to get her tested. The old versions of us didn't either. They were too concerned about doing whatever she wanted and getting tests done wasn't in the cards. But now that we're here to do what's best for her, we did the responsible thing and got her tested. We found out about two months ago. We never would have found out if she hadn't changed us for the better."

"And the books?"

"We bought those for her because they're easier for her to read. The other book's for us to read to her. After we read it to her, she rereads it on her own. Having heard the story once before, it's easier for her to figure out words later on, on her own. It helps her. But the instructors warned us that because we caught it so late, it'll become more difficult for her to work through it. Other kids who discovered it early had all this time to overcome it to the point where they can manage. With her, it's harder, having such a late start and everything."

"How is she in school?"

"We home school her. That way she can work at her own pace and no one will tease her. We're managing."

Through Cedric, he had learned something new about Linnette he didn't know before. So she had a disability. Life must have been hard for her. Harder than he realized.

Linnette stuck her head back into the room. "Ichigo! Let's go! I wanna do stuff with you!"

"Coming." He was less than enthusiastic about the idea, but compliant nonetheless.

They went to the arcade and Ichigo showed her how some of the machines worked. They played together on different machines and games. Ichigo momentarily forgot about the mission at hand and got into the games, having fun himself. When he won, he even gloated a little. But Linnette didn't seem to mind losing. But she wanted to play again on a different game. They went over to a skeeball machine and started to play for tickets. She turned out to be a natural at it. Some other children came over to watch. After she received the high score, several kids came up to ask her to play with them. She happily joined them, leaving Ichigo behind.

After two hours at the arcade, they went off on another adventure, Linnette carrying her newly won stuffed elephant in her arms. She spotted a large fountain in the middle of a courtyard and hurried up to it. She peered over the side at the coins scattered throughout the water. She turned and ran back to Victor, her hand outstretched. "Can I have a coin? I wanna throw one in."

Victor reached into his pocket and took out a coin for her to toss. She ran back to the fountain and tossed it in. Then she ran back and hooked arms with Victor.

They continued their walk until she saw something else that grabbed her attention. Abandoning Victor's side, she ran up to a woman playing a violin on the sidewalk. She ran up to the woman and watched in silent amazement. She smiled, enjoying the music. Other people were standing nearby also listening to the melody being played by a skillful hand.

The song ended and the crowd clapped. Linnette went up to the woman and asked her something Ichigo and the others couldn't hear. The woman nodded with a smile and started to play another tune. This one was more lively and got the people's toes tapping.

Linnette ran back to Ichigo and grabbed his arm. "Come on! Dance with me!"

Ichigo pulled away. "Uh, no."

"Come on, please?"

"I don't dance. No."

She pulled harder. "Come on! I wanna dance."

"I don't want to." With incredible strength, she pulled harder, actually moving Ichigo's feet from the ground. "Hey, no, wait! Stop!"

She pulled him over to where the woman was playing and, taking Ichigo's hands in hers, started dancing. It wasn't any sort of real dance, just movement. She didn't seem to be trying anything in particular. Just moving along to the rhythm. Ichigo stood still, allowing her to move his arms as she pleased while keeping his feet motionless on the ground. She turned her body, forcing Ichigo to take a step in order to keep his balance. She went a different way, Ichigo following her movement. He had no choice. She had a firm grip on his hands.

"Linnette, I don't want…"

She laughed, pulling him a different way. He followed her with his feet, trying to keep up and keep himself from tripping. She pulled him a different way, making him spin. Then she held his arms up high over her head and twirled, making him spin her. He reached out and caught her as she came to a stop, but her feet kept going. She sidestepped to the left, taking Ichigo with her. He jogged to keep up. He didn't want to fall.

A crowd started to form around them, entertained by the additional performance. But Ichigo didn't pay them any attention. He was far too busy keeping up with her to notice or care. She was actually doing pretty well. Her movements were in time, and she was doing a good job of keeping off his toes. She locked her feet together and leaned back into a spin on her heels. To keep her from taking him down with her, Ichigo had to throw himself back in a lean of his own to balance them out. They both stepped back at the same time, and a couple of people in the crowd clapped, loving it.

Now getting into it himself, Ichigo threw in a move of his own. Though he didn't know how to dance, he knew how to fight. He modified a karate move he knew into a dance step and pulled her into his arms. She rocked from side to side before leaving his chest and leading him backing into another spin. From there, they joined hands and swung their arms, freely.

This was actually kind of fun. Ichigo was starting to enjoy it. When he saw the huge smile on her face, he felt the urge to show off a little. This time when they sidestepped, he added a little skip to his step. She did the same, laughing. Then she kicked her feet off the ground and flew into his torso. He instinctively moved to the side, out of the way. The move resulted in her landing on his thigh. As he spun to the side, he took her for a hide. Then she hopped off, landed and spun herself out the full length of his arm and then curled back into his chest. She gave him a smile and spun back out. She ran around Ichigo, forcing him to spin as well.

The crowd laughed and clapped, loving the entertainment.

Ichigo felt her hand slide back into his and press her back to his. She shimmied down his spin and, releasing his other hand, spun out and back to his front where they joined hands again. Just in time for the song to end.

The crowd around them applauded and cheered, showering them with complements and praise. Ichigo looked around at them nervously. He had forgotten that they were in public and that there was a crowd. Linnette clapped, too. Then she bounced over to victor, took a crumpled up piece of money from his pocket and went back over to the woman. She thanked her for the song and gave it to her as payment. Ichigo paid his way as well, avoiding eye contact with her and the other lookers-on.

He couldn't believe that he had just done that in public. How embarrassing. It didn't matter if they liked it or not or if it was any good. He just didn't want to be seen doing it.

Linnette was receiving praise from her two guardians when a couple of older woman came over to praise her themselves. Soon, even a group of boys came over to talk to her. They even started flirting with her, Cedric watching from not too far away, of course.

Ichigo took a breath and stood with his back to the wall, trying to put the moment out of his mind. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned.

"Hat-and-clogs!"

Kisuke was standing with a grocery bag in his hand and a fan in the other, hiding most of his face. "Isn't that Linnette, the singer?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

"Why's she here? Everything going ok?"

"Peachy." Ichigo turned back to him. "I thought you said that she lost her powers. What gives? Her two bodyguards are back so what the hell?"

"She still has no singing voice, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

Kisuke looked at Linnette thoughtfully. "Hm."

"Hm, what?"

He looked back at him and spoke in a hushed tone. "This confirms what I had suspected for some time now. It's not her voice that's her full power, but her desire. What she wishes comes true. Her voice must just be a second natured thing brought on by the first and primary power."

"Meaning..?"

"Meaning that her singing voice is gone but she still has another power that's not so easily gotten rid of. But I don't think it's anything to worry about."

Ichigo grabbed his sleeve, keeping him from walking away. "I'm not satisfied with that. What's going on? What do you know about her powers?"

"Not much. It's mostly guess work. She has powers similar to Chad and Orihime, that's all I can say for sure."

"And her singing powers?"

"They're gone. Just like I said."

"But why is that gone and not the other?"

Kisuke gave it some thought. "My guess… Her voice affected Hollows, right? Well, when your Hollow kissed her, you know, lip contact, it took her power away."

"But how? Why?"

"I don't know how it works. But I do think that it makes sense. A Hollow affecting a Hollow power. It does make sense. But her power of desire remains because it has nothing to do with Hollows. You see what I mean?"

"I guess so." He really didn't.

"Look, I don't know myself how these things work. But I do know that without her singing voice, she's powerless."

"What if she wishes it back?"

"I don't think it works that way. In theory, if a Hollow took it away, a Hollow would bring it back. Or something else, I'm not sure. How should I know?"

Ichigo looked back at Linnette who was being showered with attention. "So there's nothing to worry about?"

"I shouldn't think so. But if it makes you feel any better, keep an eye on her."

Ichigo looked at Cedric and Victor who were shooing the boys away from their creator. "She's not the one I'm worried about."

* * *

><p>Please review! ^-^<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: **

It seemed that Linnette was having a great day. She was friendly to everyone who passed by and that alone earned her attention. They passed by a woman walking her dog and Linnette bent down to pet it. In return, the dog licked her face happily, making her giggle. She fed a stray cat on her way down the sidewalk. The gesture resulted in the small animal following her for the next hour.

"See, sweetie?" Victor told her. "If you are kind, people will like you and stick around."

It was true for humans, too. Not just stray cats and friendly dogs.

Along their way, they passed by a group of children playing on a concrete staircase. A small group of girls were playing with dolls while a couple of boys were practicing trick on their skateboards. One of the skateboarders cut his trick a little too close and ran over one of the dolls, sending it flying. The blond girl screamed, worried for her doll.

Linnette took it upon herself and picked the doll up, handing it back to the girl, who was quick to examine it. It was dirty and scuffed up, but otherwise fine. Still, that didn't sit well with the young girl. She was starting to tear up.

"Here, hang on." Linnette started scrubbing off the doll with the hem of her dress. When she was finished, she handed it back to the girl, pleased at her work.

The girl looked it over and smiled. "Thank you."

"What's your name?" another girl asked.

"Linnette."

"Want to play with us?"

She looked back at Victor who nodded. Smiling, she agreed and sat down with the girls.

"Here." The third girl handed her a small bento box with leftover candies inside. "Want some?"

"Sure. Thanks."

Ichigo stood back with the other men, watching her. She was starting to see that doing a good deed would lead to good things. Even friendship. Linnette didn't even have to be told this time to do something. She just did it. And in doing so, now these girls had invited her to play with them.

She was learning.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, the group went out for dinner at a local restaurant. They were seated in the back, overlooking a small bar were several business men were having a drink over their briefcases. Ichigo sat with his back to them in the booth. Linnette kept talking about her day and what fun she was having. She even called attention to Ichigo's dance again.<p>

"That was embarrassing! Shut up about it."

Cedric glared at him for telling her to shut up, but Linnette took it in stride. In fact, she was laughing. She knew he didn't mean it that way. "But you were really good at it. Even if you didn't know what you were doing. That's the best part!"

Victor patted her head. "You were lovely as ever, my princess."

She smiled. "Those boys that came over wanted to know if I lived around here. I told them no. But they said that they wanted to hang out with me some time. Can I?"

"If it makes you happy, then yes."

She smiled brightly.

While scanning over their menus, Ichigo felt a foot on his knee and looked up. Linnette, who was sitting diagonally from him, mouthed a 'sorry' to him and started bouncing in her seat, a look of concentration on her face. Cedric, who was sitting beside Ichigo, flinched and started bouncing as well. Ichigo peered under the table to see what was going on. They were playing footsy under the table. Ichigo remembered playing that with his mother at restaurants while waiting for their food. Being so young and small at the time, Ichigo had to practically lay down on the seat to reach his mother's knees with his toes. Seeing her do this brought back memories.

Sitting across from Ichigo was Victor. He watched Ichigo's gaze for a while before glancing back down at his menu. Ichigo looked up at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he told him.

Ichigo looked back at Linnette. "So… Linnette…"

She stopped her footsy game, giving Cedric one final kick. "Yeah?"

"Enjoying yourself, huh?"

"Yup."

He nodded. He didn't really care. He just wanted to read the situation a little more and decide from there what to do about this group. Depending on her answer, it could sway his decision on whether or not these three were a threat.

"You really caught people's attention out there with your dance. Do you like dancing?"

She nodded. "I like the attention even more, though."

"I see." He phrased his next question carefully. "Do you… you know. Miss being up on stage doing that stuff?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I liked having an audience watching me perform. I loved the attention."

"And singing. You miss that, too, don't you?"

She nodded sadly. "Yeah, I really do. It was a way I could express myself and get attention. I can't really put into words how it made me feel, but it was… It was a great feeling. It made me really happy. But now when I try to sing, it hurts and this horrible croaking sound comes out instead. My voice really is gone."

Ichigo was too busy watching Linnette to notice the look of pain cross over Victor's face while she was describing it. His face twitched as if every word she spoke sent a knife into his heart. She wasn't the only one who was feeling the loss of her song. Victor looked devastated.

"But that's ok." Linnette perked up. "I'm getting attention away without it. All these people want to be around me now for other reasons. It's not my voice they like, just me. It's great."

"I bet it's easier for you to play now that you're not a big star anymore, right?"

She nodded. "Oh, yes. Back then, it was all 'rush, rush, rush' and now I can relax. I never had time to play back then. Now I can. It's great. Even if I do miss the life of a diva, I'm having fun now anyway. But sometimes I wish I could relive that old life, you know? It was a lot of fun." She played with her napkin. "All the lights and applause and the clothes and attention… I miss it. And hearing myself sing. I miss that a lot, too. It just made me feel… I don't know. But I liked it a lot."

Victor got up from his seat. "I'm going to fetch us some drinks." He walked over to the bar.

While he was gone, Linnette sat sideways on the booth, resting her feet over Victor's seat. When he returned with four glasses, he found her sprawled out over the two seats. He smiled. She giggled.

"Alright… Move those feet before I sit on them."

She put her feet back on the floor, but lay her head in their place, smiling mischievously. Victor moved to sit down on her head and she quickly got out of the way, laughing. He laughed, too., setting the drinks down.

"Ok…" He started to distribute them to the group. "Water for Linnette. Beer for Cedric and myself. And a soda for Ichigo… Unless you want a beer as well."

Ichigo took the soda. "I'm still a minor."

"One sip won't kill you."

He refused. But Linnette was all for it. She took the offer.

"Can I have a sip of your beer, Victor? Please?"

He chuckled. "No, no, sweetie. Not now."

"Why not? Just a sip."

"I'm afraid you're even younger than Ichigo. You can't have this."

She pouted. "But I want it. You offered it to him."

Ichigo watched carefully. Now that Linnette had been refused what she desired, would this be enough for her to revert back to the way she was before and show her true colors? Was she going to throw a tantrum? Would she scream?

Victor set the glass down. "Tell you what… I can't give it to you here because you are a minor. But when we get back home, if you still want it, I can let you have a taste. How's that sound?"

She sat back, a little disappointed. "Why not here?"

"I was teasing Ichigo. He would get in trouble if he did. And if I were to give you some here and now, then we would both be in trouble. You wouldn't want that to happen would you? Me getting yelled at in front of everyone. And you, too, for that matter. You wouldn't like that now would you?"

She sighed. "No."

"At home we can do whatever we want. So wait for a little bit, ok? I promise I'll give you some then if you still want it. Ok? Deal?"

She smiled with a nod. "Deal!" She grabbed her glass of water and drank through the straw.

Ichigo lifted his own glass to his lips and drank through his straw.

It was another ten minutes before their meals came out. Linnette dove into hers, finishing quickly. Victor and Cedric had ordered as well, but clearly that was for Linnette's benefit. After all, they didn't eat, so their food went to her. Ichigo's meal tasted fine. But he was started to feel weird. He was feeling a little lightheaded. He hoped that it was just the atmosphere. After all, they were sitting close to the bar, which wasn't well lit and it was getting late. He also started to feel this way when he ate too much. He figured it would pass.

After a few more minutes, it didn't. It actually got a lot worse. The room was starting to spin. The lights were just a bunch of colorful blurs. He didn't know what was going on.

Linnette's concerned voice reach him from what sounded like very far away. "Are you ok, Ichigo?"

He looked at her. There seemed to be three of her. "Huh? Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just uh… Just a little tired. That's all."

Victor paid the check and they all left. Ichigo needed help to walk. His legs felt like marshmallow. He found himself having to hold onto the buildings for balance. When a building ended, he had to throw himself into another, just to keep himself going in a straight line. Soon even that wasn't enough. He tripped and fell. Victor came up behind him and lifted him up. Hating to have Victor touch him, Ichigo brushed him off and tried once again to walk on his own.

They made it back to the hotel. Victor had to steer him in the right direction, having walked past it the first time around. They pointed him to the elevator. They rode up to the fourth floor. Linnette bounced off happily, whereas Ichigo had to practically crawl off. He held onto the walls for support. He couldn't see straight. Everything was spinning. Even his hands were going numb.

"Over here, big guy."

Victor's voiced sounded like it was coming from three different directions. He felt really dizzy and weak. He wobbled over to them, clinging to the wall shakily.

"Why don't you give Linnette a kiss good-night?"

He was out of it, but not that out of it. He just waved in her direction. "'Night."

"Oh, you can do better than that. Kiss her."

He shook his head, which ultimately left him feeling even dizzier. "No, thank. Good-night."

Linnette waved back at him. "Good-night, Ichigo."

"I'll be along in a minute," Victor said. "Just let me get Ichigo back to his room."

The moment Linnette's door closed, Ichigo collapsed. He couldn't do it anymore. His strength was gone and so were his senses. He couldn't tell up from down anymore. He felt horrible. He sensed Victor standing over him, sighing.

"Well, well… Let's get you to your room. No way you can go back to your place in this state. Lucky we got you a room here, huh?"

He lifted Ichigo off the ground and helped him walk back the way they had come. He heard a 'ding' and they climbed inside a small space.

Everything was spinning on him. He shut his eyes tightly trying to rid himself of this horrible feeling. It didn't go away. His whole body was numb and from the feel of things, had lost his ability to speak. Not that he bothered to try.

Even his thoughts were weakening. He couldn't think clearly. All he could wonder was 'why?' Why was this happening to him? What was wrong with him?

Ichigo felt himself going up inside the elevator, Victor keeping a firm grip on him the entire time. His vision was terrible. The tiled floor in the elevator looked like someone had scribbled over them with a magic marker. Wiggly lines everywhere he looked. It was making him even more dizzy than he already was. He shut his eyes, moaning.

"We're almost there," he heard Victor say from what sounded like very far away.

After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator stopped. Victor brushed past a couple of older women who were coming on, giving the duo strange looks as they passed. They passed by a few other people on their way to the hotel room, all of whom gave them strange looks. They must have thought Ichigo was drunk, the way he looked being carried by Victor like this. One woman in particular stared at them as they passed by. Ichigo felt her gaze even with his eyes shut tight. He felt so weak.

"Just a little further."

Ichigo stumbled, unable to move his legs anymore. But with his superhuman strength, Victor managed to lift Ichigo up off the ground one-handed. Ichigo felt his feet drag across the floor, but was helpless to prevent it. They came to a stop.

"Here we are."

He heard Victor slide in the room key and the door opened. Victor clicked on the lights and helped Ichigo inside, closing the door behind himself. He dragged Ichigo over to the bed by the window and tossed him down. Ichigo bounced twice on the mattress, his limbs sprawled out like a rag doll. He heard Victor shifting things around in the room, but didn't give a care. He was too busy trying to figure out what was happening to him. His mind was so foggy, he couldn't think straight.

More shifting noises, then he felt a presence down by his legs. He felt Victor take off his shoes. He had a firm grip on his ankles. He heard Victor set them down by the foot of the bed, then move up, his hands leaning on the mattress by Ichigo's hip.

"Ichigo." He sounded so far away. "Ichigo, how many figures am I holding up?"

Ichigo opened his eyes to look. Just a blurry haze, but he could make out a couple. He moved his jaw up and down to speak, but only a gargle of words came out. Something was impairing his ability to speak properly.

"That's fine. You rest up. Had a long, hard night, huh?"

Ichigo felt Victor's hands on his belt, removing it. He was helpless to stop it. He felt Victor slid it off then toss it around the support leg of the bed with a soft metal clang. Victor then lifted up Ichigo's body and moved him so that he was now laying with his head on the pillows. He felt Victor's warm hand on his warm forehead. It felt kind of nice, but he hated to have Victor touch him. At all.

Victor pulled his hand away as if hearing his thoughts. "You rest up. We'll see you in the morning."

He heard Victor walk over to the door, flick off the lights then leave. Ichigo stared blankly at the ceiling for another minute before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

><p>What did they do to him? What's going on? Please review! ^-^<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

When Ichigo finally woke up the next morning, he had the mother of all headaches to greet him. He buried his face in the sheet with a moan. This was so painful. Worst of all, it was as if someone had cranked up the volume on his eardrums, making everything sound louder than it really was. Even the shuffling of his blankets and pillows was like having someone crinkling foil next to his ears.

He heard his door open followed by footsteps. "Rise and shine, Ichigo. It's morning." Victor's voice was unbearably loud. Next thing he knew, Victor had thrown open the curtains, sending bright light into his eyes. Yelping, Ichigo hid under the blankets. "Come on. Up, up, up. We're going out for breakfast. Hurry up and get dressed. We have fifteen minutes. Linnette's getting dressed right now." Ichigo felt a tug on his ankle. "I said get up, Ichigo. Let's go."

He moaned and shifted into a position that gave Victor the message that he would get ready. Satisfied, Victor left.

After a minute of laying on his side, Ichigo sat up, back facing the window. He felt awful. Ruffling his hair, he looked around. A hotel room. He was in a suite. How did he get here? He thought back to last night's hazy blur. That's right. Victor brought him here. Or was that a dream? Spotting the belt and his shoes by the foot of the bed, he knew that it was real.

"What the hell happened last night?" He remembered dinner clearly and the events during the day. But after dinner started to get a little foggy. He remembered feeling weak and dizzy. Lightheaded. Just all around weird. _I was fine during the day. I didn't start feeling that way until after_…

Victor brought him that soda.

Was he stretching things a bit? No, Victor was a sneaky guy. Maybe he was trying something. After all, he handed Ichigo that particular glass and made sure he drank it. There must have been a reason for that.

Spotting a fresh change of clothes for him on the dresser, Ichigo decided to get dressed. After getting changed and ready, Ichigo left the room and stood out in the hall for them. They were stepping off the elevator just as his door was closing.

Smiling happily, Linnette ran up to him. "Ichigo! Good morning!"

"Yeah, hi. Good morning." He looked up at Victor who was smiling his same smile. How he hated that smile.

"Shall we eat?"

Linnette took his hand and followed him back to the elevator with Ichigo and Cedric close behind.

They went to an outdoor café for breakfast. Ichigo still had a bit of a headache, but it was starting to go away. Not like that would be enough to stop him. He kept a close eye on Victor, watching him. After a few minutes of talking, he stood up to fetch them something to eat. Linnette told him what she wanted and he made his way toward the counter. Ichigo stood up and followed him.

Standing behind a couple of old ladies, Victor scanned the menu overhead. Ichigo stood behind him. Without turning, Victor asked, "Am I bothering you?"

Ichigo didn't answer.

"Have I done something…" he turned. "… Ichigo?"

He stood glaring at him. "Why was I in that hotel room?"

"Why, because your house is miles away from here and you agreed to join us. So out of consideration, we arranged a room for you. No need to thank us."

"Don't worry, I won't."

Victor turned back to the menu. "What would you like to eat, Ichigo?"

"I'll pay for my own food, thanks."

"Nonsense. You're our guest. We'll treat you."

"I'll pay for myself."

Victor turned. "No need for the attitude." The woman behind the counter asked for his order. "Yes, I'll take the pancakes, scrambled eggs and toast, please. How much is that?"

* * *

><p>Later, after a full day of shopping, they stopped for lunch. Linnette asked for pizza. They sat under a canopy and ate. Victor swung by with four cups. He handed one to Linnette and another to Ichigo. Suspicious as to why Victor wanted him to have that exact cup, Ichigo refused and reached for a different one.<p>

"What's wrong with this one?" he asked. "I got it for you."

"I'll take this one," Ichigo answered and drank giving him a cold look.

As she ate, crumbs sprinkled all over Linnette's dress. She moved to wipe her greasy hands off on her outfit, but Cedric stopped her and patted her hands off with a napkin he had on hand. She took a drink and helped herself to another slice. She offered Ichigo the last one but he declined. He was fine with the two he had. After she was done eating, Victor stood her up and brushed off all the crumbs. She giggled at his touch. He playfully nipped her nose with his front teeth and she hugged him.

"Where to next, sweetie?"

She pointed in some random direction. "Stores!"

Victor corrected her hand, pointing it in the right direction. "The shops are that way, but we just did that. Pick something else."

"But I still want to go shopping. Please?"

"How about later? We still have much to do out here. Let's walk around for a bit, hm?"

She agreed and gave Ichigo's arm a tug. "Come on, come on! Let's go!"

"Ok, ok." He finished his soda and tossed the cup into the trash, following after them.

They walked around for a while before stopping at the park. "I wanna go here," Linnette pointed.

"Ok." The others led her inside.

Discovering a sandbox, Linnette removed her shoes and jumped right in. Cedric chased after her, warning her to be careful. Sensing no danger, Linnette ignored him. She jumped around for a while, then ran off down the concrete path. Cedric chased her, telling her to put her shoes back on.

"There might be broken glass, Linnette. Please!"

She stopped. "Oh, fine." She lifted each foot up as he gently slid each shoe back on. Soon she was off running again.

She even enticed Ichigo into playing a game of tag with her. Their game started out as normal, with Ichigo not too keen on the idea. Then as he started to get into the game, it became more intense. Ichigo started chasing her as fast as he could. When it was her turn, he would do anything he could to avoid her. Even climbing a tree at a certain point.

Feeling energetic, Ichigo wanted to try something else. He lifted Linnette up onto his shoulders and took off after Cedric. The older man ran away from them, avoiding being tagged. Linnette laughed, having a great time and instructed Ichigo on where to run next. Full of energy, Ichigo pushed himself a little too far and the two went down. Cedric skidded in a sudden turn and ran back for Linnette who was sprawled out in the grass beside Ichigo.

"Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

She sat up laughing. "I'm fine! That was fun!"

Ichigo rolled around in the grass. He couldn't remember the last time he had done this. It brought back memories. He felt Linnette sit on his back and ordered him to 'giddy up'. Crouching on all fours, Ichigo took off, giving her a horsy ride. She giggled, loving it. Ichigo bucked backwards, neighing. She laughed even louder. He crawled as fast as he could, neighing like a horse. He didn't even care how he must have looked anymore. All his inhibitions had been shut down. He just wanted to enjoy himself and use this burst of energy to its fullest.

They went back to chasing each other in the grass. Then they played on the jungle gym. Then climbed a tree. Then they were running again. This energy wasn't going away. Linnette cart-wheeled in the grass, encouraging Ichigo to do the same. He even threw a back-flip in there for the fun of it. They held hands and spun. They didn't stop until they were too dizzy to stay standing and fell over. They lay in the grass panting.

But Ichigo wasn't done yet. He still wanted to do more. Unable to hold still, he started to roll. He rolled right into Linnette and then over her smaller body. Despite him being bigger than she was, he didn't hurt her. She even joined him.

Victor and Cedric stood close by, watching. And as always, Victor was smiling his trademark smile.

Ichigo and Linnette had found their way over to a small pond surrounded by large stones. Climbing one, Ichigo stood at the top, his arms spread out wide and threw his head back. "I'm king of the world!"

Linnette climbed up next to him and did the same. "I'm queen of the world!"

"Ya-hoo!"

"Woo-hoo!"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

"Whoo!"

"Ha ha ha!"

Cedric jogged up behind them. "Linnette, get down from there. You'll hurt yourself."

"No, I won't."

Victor put a hand on Cedric's shoulder. "They're fine. Let them be."

Still concerned, Cedric kept a close eye on them.

Jumping from rock to rock, Ichigo made his way all the way around the pond, Linnette following his every move. She slipped a couple of times, but never fell. Finally, they made it back to where the two men were standing. Ichigo started whooping loudly at the sky, Linnette mimicking him like an echo.

"Linnette, please come down."

She ignored Cedric.

Ichigo then started doing something he had never done in public before. He started singing. It was loud and off-key and a bunch of nonsense words strung together, but he didn't care. He was just having fun. When Linnette tried the same, all that came out was a horrible croaking sound. She was right. Her voice was no more. Embarrassed by this, she closed her mouth and her smile went away.

Ichigo turned. "What's the matter?"

"I…" She looked away. "I don't want to do this anymore."

"Why not?"

"I just don't."

If Ichigo had known the time of day, he would have also known that she was hurt that her singing voice was no longer hers and embarrassed by it. She felt like a fool and she was also sad about losing it. Hearing her croak only reminded her of it.

Ichigo danced in place, unable to stop moving. "Don't let it get to you. It's no big deal."

"It is to me. It was mine and now it's gone. Sometimes… Times like these, I wish I had it back. I miss it."

"So what?" Ichigo did a turn almost resulting in him falling into the water. "I wish my mom was still alive, but that ain't happening. I'm getting by without her, and you know what? I'm still happy. I miss her, but it's not the end of the world and I'm not lying around, moping about it all the time. Get out there and do something. Your life isn't dependant on just one thing. You have other talents. I saw you dance. You were good. And you're cute, too. A lot of people like you even without your voice."

While Ichigo spoke, Linnette never took her eyes off of him. Once again, his words reached her. Even without her voice, she was still happy and she did have good times without it. And lots of people still liked her and wanted her company. She wasn't alone without her voice. And no matter what, Victor and Cedric would always be there. They would never leave her. Still, it was nice to have real friends.

Ichigo slipped on the rock he was on for the second time and almost went into the pond. He caught himself in time and danced from one rock to another. Linnette laughed at his antics, not noticing anything was wrong. "You're very energetic today, huh?"

"I know, right? This is great!" Again, he slipped and this time couldn't recover from it. To keep himself from falling, he reached out and grabbed Linnette's arm, pulling her down with him.

"Linnette!" Cedric dove after them, resulting in all three ending up in the water.

Victor stood on dry land, watching as the three came climbing out of the pond. Linnette wrung out her dress while Cedric scolded her. Ichigo, on the other hand, wanted to go back into the water. He was climbing over the rocks at that very moment. Cedric grabbed him and pulled him back.

"If she gets a cold, boy, I'll kill you."

Ichigo wriggled in Cedric's grip, but only because he wanted to try again to get back in the water. What was wrong with him?

"Let them be, Cedric. They're not hurting anybody." Victor stood beside Linnette as she finished wringing out her hair. "Besides… it's not that cold out. They were just having fun."

Ichigo's legs went limb and he fell to the ground, Cedric still holding onto his shirt. He quickly got back up and wriggled from Cedric's grasp, racing toward the rocks. Linnette followed after him, climbing up herself.

"Linnette, get back here!"

She turned at Cedric's harsh tone. "I can't?"

"No, you can't." He extended his hand out to her. "Let's get you dry."

Victor stepped forward. "We'll be going to dinner soon, anyway."

Linnette looked up at the setting sun. "Oh, that's right! I have to change." She jumped down into Victor's arms. He spun with her in his arms twice before setting her down.

At that same moment, Ichigo had leapt into Cedric's chest, mimicking her action. Only Cedric wasn't so gentle with him, dropping Ichigo the first chance he had.

They walked back to the hotel to change. By this time, Ichigo was starting to calm down. He went into the bathroom and checked himself in the mirror. His pupils were slightly dilated, but slowly contracting. Still unable to think as clear as he would like, Ichigo just figured that he was coming down from a sugar rush from the soda. After he changed his outfit and dried himself off more thoroughly, he joined them in the main lobby for dinner.

They went to a late dinner at a nearby bar. Victor's excuse was that it was hard to find a good drink at a family restaurant. After eating her fill, Linnette spotted a pinball machine in the back and asked if she could play. Once engrossed in her game, Victor made his move.

"Say, Ichigo…"

"Yeah?"

"How are you feeling?"

He rubbed his head. "Better. I don't know what happened back there."

"Here. Drink this. Don't worry. It's punch. I know you can't drink yet."

Ichigo took the glass from him and drank. He was very thirsty. He pulled the glass away after drinking half of it. "It tastes kinda weird. You sure this is punch?"

"Yes, why? Because of the taste? It's a punch mix, I think. I suppose Japan isn't known for it's punches for a reason."

Nonetheless, Ichigo drank. He was so dehydrated. He had to drink something. But the more he drank, the stranger he felt. His hands and feet were going numb. He was getting lightheaded again. But on the plus side, all his pain was going away. He decided to stop drinking soon after that.

He felt Victor's hand on his back. "What's the matter?"

"I'll just have water instead. I'm not drinking this anymore."

"Sure, sure." Victor handed him another glass with clear liquid inside. He drank. He shoved the glass back to him.

"What the hell was in that? It burned!"

Victor looked down. "Oh, sorry. That was alcohol. My bad. It's hard to tell, they're both clear. Here. I think this is the water."

Ichigo drank the other glass only to be disappointed again. "Just get me a fresh glass, damn it. I'm sick of guessing!"

"Then drink your punch. I'm not wasting my money."

Somewhere in Ichigo's foggy mind, a red flag went up. He wanted him to drink that punch for a reason. Fat chance.

"I'm not. I want to leave."

"Are you sure? We just-"

"I said I want to go!"

Victor took a step back. Ichigo meant it. Sighing, he called Linnette over. "Come along, sweetie. We're leaving."

"Ok, just a second! I'm almost done with-" The bell on the machine 'dinged', having come to an end. "Ok. Finished!" She ran over to them. Ichigo tried to stand up on his own, only to fall to his knees on the ground. Linnette turned to Victor concerned. "Is he ok?"

"Oh, he's fine. He just took a sip of my drink, that's all. Poor boy can't hold his liquor, I'm afraid."

"Oh. I see."

"Cedric, help him, would you, please?"

The next thing Ichigo knew, Cedric was picking him up and tossing him over his shoulder. They left the building after that and returned to the hotel.

As soon as they reached the door to Linnette's room, Victor stopped them. "Ichigo, give Linnette a kiss, good-night, now."

Ichigo lifted his head. It felt so heavy and quickly let it flop back down.

Victor poked his forehead. "Ichigo."

"That's ok, Victor," Linnette said. "I don't want to have him kiss me if he's drunk anyway. I'll just take my bath now. See you." She went inside, closing the door. Victor reached out, trying to stop her, but she was already gone.

He turned back and poked Ichigo again. "Ichigo. Ichigo."

He wasn't unconscious, but he couldn't make his body respond. He hung there like a rag doll.

Unnerved, Victor turned away. "Cedric."

The taller man followed him back into the elevator where they dropped to the next floor and got off. They walked for a few second before Cedric spoke up.

"Victor, this isn't going to work. End it."

"End what?"

"This. What you're doing now. It has to stop.

"Stop? Stop?" He started laughing. "Cedric, I'm doing this for her!"

"She never asked for it."

"You heard her back there, didn't you? She misses it! I'm trying to give it to her."

"How can you recover her voice like this?"

"If Ichigo could take it away, he can give it back."

"But like this? You know it's never going to work. It was the Hollow's kiss that did it. Not him."

"Ah, but my dear friend, that's the theory. What if it wasn't the Hollow at all but him?"

"I doubt that very much. Let's just drop it."

"I will _not _drop it!" Victor stomped his foot on the ground and approached Cedric, continuing in a hashed tone. "She misses it. She said so herself. I'm trying to make her happy and return it to her."

"She's happy now and she never asked-"

"She didn't have to. I know what she wants. Her saying that she misses it alone is enough of an order for me."

"But spiking Ichigo's drinks isn't necessarily going to make him want to kiss her, you know that."

"It's worth a try!"

There was silence. Then he heard Victor shift to the other side of the hall, breathing roughly.

"I have to… I've got to try."

Cedric sighed. "Whatever. I'll have no part of it. Do whatever you want. But know that if it puts her in any danger…"

"I'll never let that happen, are you kidding? She's everything to us. Our little girl. Our creator. Why would I do anything to hurt her? I swore on my very existence that I would do anything and everything in my power to keep her happy and never let her shed a tear. My job is to keep her from crying. She's done that too much in her life as it is. I will never be the one to cause it."

Cedric nodded. "Good. Then we're on the same page."

Victor opened a door Ichigo guessed was his hotel room. "Go on. Let him sleep it off."

Cedric carried Ichigo inside and carelessly dumped him on the bed. From there, he removed Ichigo's shoes and left without even bothering to tuck him in. Unfortunately, Ichigo's body was completely paralyzed so he couldn't do it himself. He lay there facedown, waiting for whatever Victor had slipped him to wear off.

* * *

><p>Now we know what they're planning. One of them at least. Please review!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

The next morning, Victor took everyone out for breakfast again. Ichigo kept shooting him dirty looks the entire time, though he took no notice. It wasn't until he got up from his seat that Victor chose to take notice of him.

"Ichigo, you haven't touched your food. Something wrong?"

"I'm not hungry."

Victor excused himself from the table and followed Ichigo over to the garbage bins by the exit. "What's the problem?" He handed him his cup of water. "Here. Drink."

Ichigo knocked it out of his hand, spilling it on the floor. A mother and her children looked up, unnerved by his action so close to their table. Ichigo turned his back to them, not wanting to see the looks on their faces or for them to see his. Instead, he moved close to Victor. "I know what you've been doing and I want it to stop. Now."

"Whatever do you mean?" That same damn smile. How he hated that smile.

Grabbing Victor's tie, he pulled himself into his face, hissing words through his teeth. "I know you've been drugging me."

His smile faded.

"I know all about it. And I want it to stop. Right here. Right now. No more."

Victor sighed, looking down. "I knew it was only a matter of time. I figured you knew when you refused that glass I offered you yesterday." His smile came back. "But I was crafty enough to fill all the cups with it except for Linnette's. After all, such things have no effect on either me or Cedric. We're immune."

It made sense, seeing as how neither of them were really human or 'alive'. Why would drugs have any affect on them?

Victor pulled his tie from Ichigo's grasp and smoothed it between his fingers. He said nothing.

"Why would you do that to me? After I told you that I wanted to make sure you guys had truly changed. You said that you were a different Victor, but you're still pulling the same crap he did."

"I am different, Ichigo, don't you see? I am a new and different Victor, created for a new purpose. Though I may not be the same Victor you once knew before, I hold all of his memories. I have his mind as well as my own. We're sharing. It's like when a person decides to change themselves. They're never completely different. They're one in the same, only one side is dominate. That's how it is for me."

"But why would you-"

"I don't have to explain myself to you."

"You damn well better!"

Victor burned holes into Ichigo's forehead with his gaze. Hatred. Was it Ichigo he hated or what he was saying to him? It was unclear. Before Ichigo could figure it out, Linnette had come up to throw her arms around the tall blond man.

"Victor, I'm done eating. Let's go shopping now!"

His face softened at her presence. "Of course, darling. Go fetch Cedric and we'll leave."

Cheering, she ran back for the other man.

As Victor brushed past Ichigo, he whispered, "Feel free to leave at any time. Just don't think I'm finished yet."

"I never did," Ichigo whispered back.

* * *

><p>They went shopping at the pedestrian mall Ichigo often went to with his sisters on the weekend or with his friends just to hang out. He was used to waiting around near the dressing rooms while his sisters tried on different outfits, but Linnette practically camped out in the booths compared to the time his sisters' took to get changed. And she tried on more outfits, too. She stepped outside to model for them, then went back in to change outfits. And the routine would continue like that.<p>

But this gave Ichigo plenty of time to think. He thought about what Kisuke said before about the connection between Linnette and these two men she created. Linnette wished for them because she needed them. Living imaginary friends. They were whatever she wanted them to be and whatever she needed them to be. She wanted a family. So they adopted her and took care of her as their own child. She wanted to be showered with love and attention, so they did. She wanted to be able to afford anything she wanted because she was never allowed such things. So they both were created with enough money to keep her comfortable and happy.

However, she was only a child when she had first created them. She knew nothing of the world from an adult's point of view or what was need to adopt and keep a child in good health and comfort. She didn't know what it was like to be an adult, therefore, Victor and Cedric were also created to know how the world worked so that they could take care of her and make her happy.

According to Kisuke, their creation came from both Linnette's conscious and unconscious mind. Everything she wanted came from her conscious mind, her voicing her desires. And for everything she needed were taken care of by her unconscious mind, her needs and seeing that they were met. They were there to take care of her and make her happy. That was their role. They acted according to her will. Even Victor told him that she had rewritten them to be more like what Ichigo had thought a proper family should be like. Now they were programmed not to spoil her rotten and never tell her no, but to raise her right and still make her happy even by telling her 'no'. This meant that she could in fact change them. She could make them anything she wanted. Make them do whatever she wanted. She now wanted them to tell her 'no' when it was needed, even if it would upset her.

But this bothered Ichigo. Not with the contradictory aspect of it, but what Victor had done before in the past. In New York city, Victor had confided in Ichigo that he had created a serum that could turn human beings into Hollows. At first, it only worked halfway, effecting their mind, but not their bodies. Then he had successfully created it to work one hundred percent, turning them into Hollows that could be seen by the human eye, though Hollow nonetheless. He then went on to say that Linnette had no knowledge of this, that Victor was acting on his own.

This meant that Victor had a will of his own. He was acting without orders. Was Cedric the same way? He must have been.

This brought no end of questions to Ichigo's mind. Where was the fine line between what Linnette wanted them to do and what _they_ wanted to do? Were these their own desires or Linnette's subconscious ones being acted upon by them? Just how real were these living imaginary friends? It was too much to think about and Ichigo doubted that he would ever know the true answer. It was possible that not even Linnette or her servants knew the answers to these questions themselves.

"Ichigo, what do you think?"

He looked up. Linnette was modeling a pink dress for him, covered with bows and ribbons. "It's cute." His response was halfhearted. He didn't really care.

She spun around, showing off to the two other men. "What do you guys think?"

Victor clapped his hands together. "Wonderful. You look so adorable."

Cedric took a different approach, turning Linnette around by her shoulders and looking her up and down. He looked at the price tag, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "It's expensive. This dress would have to be put away for a special occasion. It's not a casual dress, Linnette."

"But I like it."

"I know you do, but it's really…"

"We can afford it, Cedric," Victor told him confidently. After all, they were created with enough money to keep her satisfied. Naturally this dress was no big deal to someone who carried thousands around in his pocket on a daily basis.

Cedric stood up. "It's too fancy and it's dry-clean only. Not only that, but look at all the ribbons. They'll get caught on something and rip."

Linnette looked at the outfit, lifting the ribbons up with her hands to examine them. "I didn't think about that…"

"Find something else, honey."

Linnette sadly agreed and chose a different outfit to try on.

Ichigo looked at his watch. They had been doing this for the past hour. Just how many was she going to try on?

After twelve more outfits, they headed towards the checkout to purchase nearly two dozen outfits. Linnette skipped ahead with Victor's hand in hers while Ichigo and Cedric followed behind carrying all her bags. Ichigo could barely see a thing over all her purchases. Just how many outfits did one person need? He followed them back to the hotel to drop off her things. It was already 4:58. But she still had so much energy and wanted to do more. Much more.

They then went back to the park for a little play before dinner. Victor brought along a Frisbee for them to play with. They started throwing it around in the grass. Ichigo's turn to throw it back. He tossed it a little too far, the disk sailing over Linnette's head and over to a small group of young boys. The Frisbee landed by their feet and they turned, seeing the girl running up to them.

Cedric stepped forward, unsure of what would happen, but ready in case things took a violent turn.

Instead, one of the boys picked up the disk and handed it back to her, asking for her name. She answered with a smiling face and was invited to join them. Without even looking back at the others, she joined, leaving Victor and Cedric behind.

They both looked stunned. She didn't even look back. Now she was playing with total strangers, having a great time.

This was a very rare moment where Ichigo pitied them. They existed for her sake. They were created by her. She was all they had. What would happen when they were no longer needed?

As much as they knew that this was right for Linnette to play with real people, it was no less painful for them to watch.

After a while of play, Victor called for her to come. She waved good-bye to the boys and ran back to Victor. Cedric watched as the boys slowly left, giving Linnette a few last minute glances and turning to each other, no doubt talking about her. They were all smiling. As always, Linnette leapt into Victor's chest, hugging him. She hadn't outgrown any of them yet.

"Ichigo."

He turned to find Rukia standing behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been here. You weren't at home so I went looking for you. I ran into Kisuke. He told me about… them." She gestured toward the three in the grass.

"Oh. Yeah. Them."

"Everything ok?"

His response was slow in coming. "Not sure. Linnette I think is good to go, but these guys… Well, Victor's bothering me."

"Oh? How?"

Ichigo told her what happened.

She gave him a troubled look. "Keep an eye on them. I'm going to go have a word with Kisuke on this. I'll come back when I have more info."

"It's no big deal. I can handle this."

"Yeah, but if Victor admitted that he was trying to get her powers back through you, I want to know if it is actually possible. Then we might have something to worry about."

He couldn't argue with that. He gave her a nod and she flashed away just as the remainder of the group was coming back to him. "Ready to go?" Victor asked.

Ichigo silently nodded and stood up, following them.

* * *

><p>As promised, Rukia went to have a word with Kisuke on the subject. He, too, was troubled by this. He spent a long time thinking before coming up with a theory.<p>

"Well, it's as I told Ichigo. Her singing powers are gone. However, if they could be taken away, they could be restored. It's a question of how."

"But you're saying that it's possible?"

"Anything is possible, Rukia. Even this." He took his hat off, ruffling his uncombed hair. He was having a hard time with this. "Her powers are certainly unique. I'll say that. But to restore the lost ability…"

"When Linnette lost her power, she had kissed Ichigo in his Hollow form. Remember? You explained it to us."

"Yes, I remember." He sat back, thinking. "I had figured that it happened mostly because Linnette's powers affect Hollows. So for a Hollow to get that close to her… I'm warning you, this is not an exact science. Things can change. I can be wrong."

Rukia sighed. "All I want to know is if it is possible to restore them. You told me that is was. But how? So far, they're just trying to repeat the process and trying to get him to kiss her again. Can that really work?"

"In theory, yes. They're going by that logic. Like opening a window. If sliding it to one side opens it, then you would have to slid it again to close it. If one kiss took her powers away then another kiss should restore them. It's reasonable logic."

"But Ichigo was a Hollow when they kissed last time. Wouldn't that mean that he would have to be a Hollow again in order for it to work?"

Kisuke shrugged. "I suppose…" He suddenly sat straight up, a thought popping into his head. "A Hollow's kiss…"

"Kisuke?"

He put his hat back on and tapped his chin with the end of his fan. "If kissing a Hollow took away her powers, that doesn't mean that kissing one again would restore them. However, there is another way."

"Oh?"

He nodded. "What if she were to kiss something that's not a Hollow?"

"Like what?"

"Just thinking how to get the result, you have to work backwards. And just looking at it, Hollows and Soul Reapers are opposites. In theory, if kissing the Hollow took away her power, then kissing a Soul Reaper could restore them."

"So you think they're trying to get Ichigo to kiss Linnette in Soul Reaper form in order to restore her powers?"

"So goes the theory. I could be wrong. But then again, I could be right."

* * *

><p>Review! Please review! ^^<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Ichigo refused anything from them that evening. When dinnertime rolled around, he went hungry. When he was thirsty, he used a public drinking fountain. Anything to avoid being drugged again. Was Victor really that desperate to restore her powers?

Back at the hotel room, he took an hour long shower, trying to clear his head but finding nothing but unanswered questions. Not only that, but he was wondering what their roles were. What did Victor and Cedric stand for? He knew that they were there for Linnette's sake, but he could also see that they each specialized in specific duties. Both protected Linnette but Cedric seemed just a little bit more protective for her. Victor kept his distance while Cedric followed her around like a shadow, warning her of possible dangers. Even back then, Ichigo could see it in him. He never did trust Ichigo. He always thought of him as a potential threat to her. On the plane ride to New York city, Cedric never took his eyes off of Ichigo for a second and he was always the first one to respond. Even so, he always seemed to have Linnette's best interest at heart. He was trying to do the right thing for her with as little pain as possible. Ichigo came to the conclusion that he had nothing to worry about with that one.

Victor. Aside from being a jerk, what was his role in Linnette's life? Kisuke did make a point of telling them that it was possible that Linnette created them based on her subconscious desires, thus giving them characteristics and traits she never intended. She may not have created him to behave this way on purpose. It could have been inadvertent. But they both were created for her sake. So he had meaning, too. What was his primary role?

Joy. Victor was there to baby her. To treat her like a princess, something she desired and was never given. Attention. She was an attention seeker and Victor was there to give it to her. He complimented her and called her by pet names to make her feel wanted and part of a family. He was more of a father figure to her than Cedric was. Ichigo took note of that, as subtle as they were, there were traits. He was the one she always ran to first. She clung to him more than she did Cedric. She loved both of them but like real parents in a child's life, each one was good at a certain thing, making the child seek them out for that one thing they needed or craved.

Most of all, Victor was there to make her happy. Cedric pleased her, but he also declined her requests. Victor did on an occasion, but he would still find a way to make her happy, even after being told 'no'. He wanted her to be happy and to fulfill her desires and wishes. She would want for nothing.

That must have been why he wanted to restore her powers so desperately. After confirming that she missed them, Victor felt compelled to bring back what she had lost. He was there to fill the void.

Ichigo shut off the water and stepped out of the shower with a sigh.

He pulled the curtain back, finding someone standing on the other side, staring at him. Crying out in surprised, Ichigo grabbed the curtain and drew it around himself. Blinking water out of his eyes, he caught his breath and shouted at the man standing nonchalantly in front of him. "What the hell, Cedric? I'm in the freaking shower!"

"I can see that."

Spitting venom, he yelled again. "What do you want?"

"To tell you that after tomorrow, we'll be leaving. Tomorrow is your last day with us. I suggest to get what you need to get before that time."

He calmed at his words. Somehow, he understood what he meant by that statement. Swallowing, he looked down, thoughtfully.

Cedric's gaze drifted downward. "You're a bigger man than I would have figured."

Ripping the curtain from the hooks, he pointed to the door. "Get out!"

* * *

><p>One day. Just one day to settle things. After that, there would be nothing he could do. However, that also meant that he just had to endure one more day of Victor trying to get him to kiss Linnette and restore her powers. Once they left, there was no longer a risk. They would be miles away with no way to contact him. If they truly needed Ichigo to restore her powers, there would be nothing to worry about once they went back home. Maybe this was a blessing after all.<p>

Midday. Not much longer now. He just had to make sure that Victor didn't try to feed him anything. They went back to the park. But instead of playing, they were sitting in the grass having a little picnic. Linnette squirted hand sanitizer on her hands before digging in. She offered some to Ichigo.

There was nothing wrong with that. Besides, she was the one giving it to him. He nodded and reached for it. She passed it to Victor who then passed it to Ichigo. Ichigo paused once it was in his hand knowing who the last one was to touch it. The small bottle was gone from sight for only an instant, just enough time to pull something. Ichigo looked at the bottle. Same one she used on her hands. There shouldn't have been a problem. Besides, he wasn't going to eat the stuff so it should be safe. Ichigo squirted a little bit into his palm and rubbed his hands together. Victor then took it back and turned to return the bottle to Linnette's bag.

The picnic went on without interruption. There was plenty of food. Enough for all four of them, even though two of them didn't have to eat. Most of the time Victor and Cedric drank fine wines or uncommon beers. They never really ate anything. Ichigo thought that he had seen them eat only once, not that it was really all that important.

"Go one, Ichigo," Victor prompted him. "Eat something."

Red flag. Victor must have spiked something; question was what? Linnette was eating fine. Did he not spike the food? He wouldn't taint something that would risk poisoning Linnette, too, would he? Impossible. Not his sweet little girl. It should be safe. But maybe not.

"I'm fine. I'm not really all that hungry today," Ichigo lied. And right on cue, his stomach growled. To shut it up, he punched himself in the stomach. Not one of his better ideas. That was something Orihime would do (and has done).

"Nonsense." Victor picked up a platter and held it out for him to sample from. "Take."

He didn't trust that smile and never would. "No, I'm fine, really."

"Please."

"No, thanks."

Taking up the offer herself, Linnette took from the platter of finger sandwiches, cramming them into her mouth.

Victor turned to her. "Slow down, sweetie. You don't want to choke, now do you?"

She said something that was muffled by the food in her mouth. Cedric handed her a juice box. "Don't talk with your mouth full. Sensible bites, now."

"Sawwy," she said.

She was eating fine. Perhaps Victor hadn't done anything to the food. He would never risk Linnette's safety. It was Ichigo he was after. So far he wasn't offering anything to him that he wasn't to Linnette. Maybe the food was safe after all. Still, Ichigo had his doubts.

"Any sweets, Victor?" she asked after a drink of juice.

He shook his head. "Not until after you finish your meal. I'll take you to a bakery where you can pick out anything you want afterwards."

She was so excited now. "Really?"

"Yes. But eat your veggies first."

Cedric held up a plastic bag filled with carrots and broccoli. According to Cedric, these were her favorite vegetables. These she would eat. So she ate them without a fuss. With the promise of sweets, she finished the bag quickly. She held it upside-down in Victor's face, showing him that she had done as promised. Giving her a nod of acceptance, Victor patted her head. Sweets were on the way.

In that half-hour, Linnette had gone through almost all of the food there on the picnic blanket. There was very little left now. Ichigo stared at the food hungrily. Was it safe or not? He was starving.

Seeing his hungry stares, Linnette picked up an orange from her paper plate and handed it to him. "Here, eat this. Don't be shy."

If it was coming from her and her plate, it should have been fine. Ichigo took it from her hand, their fingers momentarily touching. It was fruit wrapped up in a thick skin so it was unlikely for Victor to have done something to it. Sensing no danger, he peeled it and ate it.

After that, Linnette tore her sandwich in half and offered it to him as well. He ate that, too. But he refused any drinks. That was easiest for Victor to taint.

At long last, the picnic was over. Cedric gathered the empty containers and folded the blanked, loading them all back into the woven basket. He glanced over at Ichigo suspiciously. He wasn't fearful of him trying anything. He was just looking for any signs of change in his actions, like from the past couple of nights. He then turned his gaze over to Victor who was playing with Linnette under a tree. Nothing too energetic. Just patty-cake from the look of things. He didn't seem too concerned with Ichigo, leading Cedric to believe that he had truly done nothing to him.

Even Ichigo thought that he was ok. He didn't feel impaired or anything that could be associated with being drugged up. Victor must have either given up or was waiting for an opportunity when his guard was down.

However, he was feeling a little warm. But that must have been because of the sun. It was a pretty warm day.

All in all, he was in a pretty good mood. Better than he was before. In fact, a lot better.

"Ichigo!" Linnette was calling him over. "We're going for a walk. Hurry up!"

"Coming!" He jogged over to them.

Victor and Cedric flanked her on both sides, Cedric carrying the picnic basket and Victor holding Linnette's hand. Ichigo walked behind them, watching Linnette's dark hair swing from side to side with every bouncy step she took. Her head turned quickly left and right, looking at all there was to see. After all, they were only visiting this place. It wasn't like she was living here. So she wanted to make sure she got a good look at everything. Even the trees and the children playing on the slide and swings.

What Ichigo couldn't understand was why he kept his eyes fixed on her when it was Victor he should have been watching. But he liked watching her. He liked the way her hair reflected the sunlight when it touched her head and shoulders. He liked the way she moved. And that purple dressed looked really cute on her. Even her boots looked so nice.

Victor turned his head. "Ichigo."

"Huh?" He looked up.

"Why don't you hold her other hand? Cedric, move."

Cedric hesitated, but did as he was told. Ichigo traded places with him and took her left hand. Or rather, she did. He only hovered it by hers. She latched on tight and swung it playfully. Soon, she was swinging both Victor and Ichigo's arms by her sides. Neither one of them minded. She stopped after a while and simply held them still as she walked.

Her warm soft hands felt good in his. Ichigo inadvertently rubbed his thumb on the soft back of her hand, causing her to look at him. "What?"

Ichigo blinked, a little startled. "Uh… nothing." He didn't know why he had done that.

Then they reached the bakery. It was a small shop next to the convenient store on the corner. Walking inside was like walking into heaven. The smell of bread baking and chocolate filled their senses the moment the door opened and the bell above them 'dinged'. It wasn't too busy. There was an old man reading the paper in the back corner, glancing up momentarily to give Linnette a smile, then went back to reading. There were small round tables along the wall on the right side of the store, the counter filled with treats on the left. Linnette was already pressed up against the glass, looking at all the tasty sweets waiting to be sold.

Ichigo stood behind her, having a look at them himself. Fresh bread and rolls were on display wracks behind the counter, but that wasn't what had their eye. Dozens upon dozens of yummy sweets were behind the glass in front of them. Cakes and donuts and pasties and cookies galore. Everything looked so good and inviting, topped off with creams, frostings, fruits, sprinkles and candy. Linnette was fogging up the glass as she pressed even closer, looking at the large cupcakes mere inches away. They all looked so good.

A saleswoman appeared behind the display case wearing a white apron and white bandana. "May I help you?"

"Yes," Victor answered. "We were looking for something sweet for our little sweetie here." He nodded towards Linnette crouched before the glass.

"We have some delicious apple pie, just out of the oven. Or perhaps you'd like to try chocolate mousse pie. It's topped off with whipped cream, nuts, hot sauce and your choice of cherries or strawberries. We even have some delicious ice cream brownies. Their very popular with the children."

"All very good. But I believe the young lady would like something in that case over there."

The woman walked over behind the glass case where Linnette was eyeing a row of cupcakes. She pointed to one in the back. "What's that one?"

The woman followed her finger. "This one? That's a strawberry shortcake cupcake. Very good and very fresh. I just put those out little over ten minutes ago."

Linnette pointed to another one. "And this?"

"A raspberry tart cupcake. Very good with coffee."

Linnette was having trouble deciding. Everything looked good. "Mmm… What about this one? This looks cute." She was pointing to a cupcake with a mountain of frosting and chocolate pieces. It had the face of a blushing bear in icing on the surface, wearing a sliced strawberry for a party hat.

"That is a marble cupcake with vanilla frosting and chocolate. And that is a real strawberry it's wearing. Isn't it cute? It takes a while to make those and they go fast. There are only two left. We'll have to make more soon. Would you like one?"

She nodded, excitedly. She looked at Victor.

"You want that one? Are you sure?"

She nodded again.

Victor took out his wallet. "How much for the bear cupcake?"

"That will be 560 yen, please."

As Victor fished out the money, the woman slid open the display case from behind the counter and pulled out the cupcake. She handed it to Linnette at the register. She was already peeling off the paper. While Victor handed the woman the money, Cedric took Linnette over to one of the tables. She sat down and started eating it. Ichigo sat across from her.

Cedric handed her a plastic fork to eat it with, but she declined, preferring to use her hands. She got a little frosting on her fingers and poked Cedric on the cheek, transferring the frosting to his face. His tongue wormed out and licked it off. Giggling, she continued to eat.

Ichigo watched her in confused fascination. Why was she so interesting to watch? The way she ate was so… entertaining. It made his face feel hot.

Linnette ripped the cupcake and offered Ichigo a piece. He took it in his hand and dumped it in his mouth, leaving frosting on his fingertip. Ichigo was about to lick it off when he saw how much Linnette loved the frosting. She was licking her fingers off left and right, saying how delicious it was.

Whatever was going on in his mind was a mystery to Ichigo, but something compelled him to ask, "Linnette… do you want the frosting?"

She looked at him a little confused, but happy the word 'frosting' came up. "Sure."

He held out his hand. "Just lick it off. I don't care."

Leaning forward, Linnette licked the tip of Ichigo's index finger. What seemed like a harmless gesture to her was causing Ichigo to squirm. Shutting his eyes as her tongue ran along his finger, Ichigo's legs tensed up, trying hard not to fidget. If only she knew how this felt for him. Yes, it was gross that she was licking him; even he admitted that. But it felt so good to him. Warm, wet and soft. Her tiny taste buds running up his figure tip. He fought the urge to moan out loud.

"Linnette," Cedric said, grabbing her long hair. "You're getting your hair in the food."

She released Ichigo's hand and sat back down, examining her hair. "Oh, sorry. Thanks. I don't have any on me, do I?"

While Cedric checked her over, Ichigo blew on his figure, his breath cooling on the saliva she left behind. It felt so good. His face felt even hotter than it did before.

Unbeknownst to him, Cedric was staring at him. As Victor approached the table, Cedric gave him a knowing look.

"How is it, dear?" Victor asked, pulling up a chair.

Linnette turned her chocolate covered face up to him. "It's really, really good!"

Victor chuckled. "You have chocolate on your face."

"Where?" she asked, her tongue curving out of her mouth to lick it off, and missing.

Victor moved in. "There's some right here." He licked the tip of her nose lightly. She giggled, his tongue tickling her.

Ichigo almost let out a whimper of longing. Watching him do that to her was making him long to do that himself. Her giggle alone was so enticing. He wanted to feel her touch on his skin. It was getting hotter in here. Or was that his own temperature raising?

Cedric turned Linnette his way, wiping her off with a napkin he had on hand. Linnette asked Cedric if he could lick her, too, but he declined.

"But I think it's fun. Like having a dog. It's ok."

"But you didn't imagine me as a dog, honey," Cedric told her. "Besides, not in public. We don't want to have people look at us strangely now do we? And you'll be going around all day smelling like my spit."

She giggled out an 'eww'. "When you say it like that..!"

Ichigo couldn't think straight. It felt like a sauna in the building, despite two fans slowly rotating above them. It made him feel dizzy and lightheaded. But it also put him in a good mood. A very good mood. He only felt this way when he was overtired and wrapped up in blankets fresh from the dryer. All snuggly and warm. It put him in a cuddling mood.

Cedric kept his gaze fixed on Ichigo. He knew.

* * *

><p>They left the shop. It was warm with a nice cooling cross breeze. Linnette was having fun tugging on Victor's arm and pirouetting around him as they traveled down the sidewalk. Victor pulled her in a certain direction and she followed obediently. He called Ichigo over and asked him to hold her other hand like before.<p>

This time when he slid his hand into hers, his senses were magnified. It was over stimulated. The feeling of her hand in his was ten times what it should have been and felt so wonderful. He shut his eyes, rubbing his forehead. He knew something was wrong. But there was nothing he could do about this feeling.

The suited man took them to the middle of the park and stood them there in the clearing of the trees and playgrounds. A wide open space of green grass and open sky above them. Light grey clouds were starting to blow in, threatening to rain on them, but not for another day or so. Ichigo inhaled deeply, taking in all of the sweet scents around them. He smelled the grass and the trees. All the leaves and the moist bark. He smelled the breeze, carrying the scent of food shops and outdoor activity with it. It was peaceful.

Looking around, Linnette recognized this place within the next few seconds. "I know where we are. This was where I had my concert in this town. The night after the school. Right, Victor?"

He nodded. "Brings back memories, doesn't it?" He took in a breath. "Oh… Isn't it lovely? Such nice memories. Good times… We had fun here, didn't we?"

She nodded, a bittersweet smile on her face. "I wish I could sing again. Just for the fun of it. I don't need the fame. Just the joy I had doing it."

Victor placed his hands on her shoulders, bringing his chin down to rest on the top of her head. "Of course you do, dear. Of course."

There was a muffled ringing sound coming from Ichigo's pocket, like an alarm. Taking it out, Ichigo knew what it was. The sound was too loud and clear to ignore.

"_Hollow! Hollow! Hollow!_"

Sure enough, there was a roar from above as the sky ripped in half. A five-horned Hollow emerged with a diamond-shaped mask.

Linnette and the two men beside her looked up. They could all see it, too. Normally Linnette wouldn't have thought anything of it, but now that she was powerless, she was in danger. Before she lost her powers, Hollows would never harm her. They loved her, falling under the spell of her voice, one by one. Why would any off them harm her? She was like a queen to them. Even Ichigo's Hollow agreed with that statement. He himself was in love with her in his own way. He did whatever he could to make her happy. But now that the power was gone, Hollows had no reason to exclude her from their hunt.

Taking his badge in one hand Ichigo pressed it to his chest and left his body behind. He was enough in his right mind to know the danger. He took out his sword, bandages uncoiling with one thrust.

"This way, dear." Victor took her hand and pulled her away from the battle. She pulled against him, turning her body back towards Ichigo, curious and worried.

Despite being impaired and not feeling one hundred percent himself, Ichigo charged right into battle. The Hollow wasn't too big or powerful, but he still had to finish this quickly. As he swung his sword, the Hollow slashed at him, knocking it out of his hand and right at Linnette and her party.

Before he could give a warning, the men sprang into action. In one fluid motion, Victor had picked up Linnette in his arms and jumped landing behind a marble fountain. At the same time, Cedric and taken her place, willingly jumping in the sword's path, allowing himself to be run through. Sword sticking straight out from between his ribs, Cedric stopped the weapon from continuing its path. Taking it in one hand, he pulled it out of his body. No lasting damage was done. His shirt was torn but his body was fine. It was like sticking it in a gel torso. No blood. No injury. And once the sword was pulled out, there wasn't even a wound or any indication that he had been attacked by a weapon at all. This was them. Linnette's servants were indestructible.

Shaking himself from the wonder, Ichigo turned back to the Hollow.

"Ichigo!"

Looking down, he saw Cedric aim the sword at him and throw. Catching it one-handed, Ichigo turned and went after the masked monster. The Hollow jumped over Ichigo's head and whipped him with it's tail at the same time Ichigo stabbed his sword into its thigh. The result: They both ended up falling out of midair and crashing into the fountain. Water sprayed everywhere, soaking anything and anyone standing close to it, which included Linnette. She was soaked from head to foot, but otherwise unharmed.

Taking the sword up in both hands, Ichigo plunged it down into the Hollow's head, killing it instantly. He returned the sword to his back and walked over to the others, feeling accomplished, but still a little lightheaded.

"You ok?"

"Naturally," Victor said smugly. "I could never be harmed by one of those things. And Linnette's with me and I'd never let anything happen to my little girl."

Linnette wrung out her hair in the grass. "I'm all wet, though."

Ichigo gulped. He could see right through her dress. His face felt hot again. His mind was spinning. Not this again. He thought it was over with.

Seeing the look on Ichigo's face, Victor's smile spread. "Say, Ichigo…"

"Y-yeah?" This lightheadedness was getting worse. He felt like he was about to pass out.

"Why don't you help her out."

He took a step back. "How? What? How?"

"She's soaked. She'll likely catch a cold if she stays like this. Keep her warm."

"How would I do that?"

Victor pushed them both together. "A hug, of course."

Ichigo felt Linnette's wet body pressed up close to his. It made him shiver.

"Don't be shy, put your arms around her." He moved Ichigo's arms around the girl, forcing him to hold her tight. It stimulated his senses even more than he had expected. He didn't like how wet she felt or the fact that he was now getting just as wet himself, but it still caused his heart to beat faster. He took in a shivering breath.

Linnette turned her head towards Victor, causing Ichigo to shiver again. He liked how it felt when she moved against him like that. "Victor, I don't think this is how it works… Now he's getting wet, too. I'd rather change clothes. Please?"

She had no idea what was happening inside Ichigo. She was too naive and innocent for that. But Victor knew. In fact, he wanted to push them just a little further. He moved closer as if to pull them apart, but instead, he started playing with Linnette's hair.

"Hm, you're right. Just look how wet your hair is. We should dry you off."

He waved her hair under Ichigo's nose and tickled his cheeks with the tips. Her hair smelled like water and shampoo. Strawberry shampoo. It smelled so sweet. Ichigo dug his heel into the dirt, fighting the temptation. She's too young, he kept telling himself. She was only thirteen. Three year difference. He couldn't.

"Let's see your face, sweetie." Victor placed his fingers under her chin, lifting her head up. "Aw, you seem fine. Your lips aren't turning blue, yet. Still, we should get you all cleaned up, fresh change of clothes…"

Ichigo was getting worse. His head was spinning, his eyes were heavy, he felt sick. He wanted to just curl up and hide. _What is wrong with me?_

Next thing he felt was Victor leaning in his ear, speaking to him in a soft whisper. "Just look at her, Ichigo. Have you ever seen anyone so perfectly beautiful?"

She was cute, but hardly what he would call beautiful.

"And those lips. Just look how full and perfectly pink they are."

Her lips were very appealing to him. Very attractive. Why was he thinking that?

"Makes you feel like kissing them, don't they? Doesn't it?"

He shut his eyes.

"Just do it, Ichigo. It'll be over in a second. Just one quick kiss is all I'm asking for. You know you want to. Her lips are begging for it. They want to be kissed just as much as you do."

He couldn't do it.

"Just do it, Ichigo."

He can't.

"Do it."

Cedric came up from behind, standing silently, watching. He wanted to see what would happen. What was going to take place? Would he do it? Would Victor take this too far? Was it as he feared?

Victor put his hand on the back of Ichigo's neck, pushing him forward. Ichigo couldn't fight his strength. "Just a kiss of apology, my dear boy."

Cedric's eyes narrowed, frowning.

Linnette turned her head upward.

Victor smiled. "He just wants to show you that he's sorry for getting you all wet, dear. Right, Ichigo? Now show her how sorry you are. Do it."

He didn't want to.

The last thing he saw was the surprised look on Linnette's face as his lips moved toward hers.

They met in a single, quick, unwanted kiss.

Victor smiled wider than ever before.

A spark. Ichigo felt it surge throughout his body, zapping him from the inside out. It wasn't painful as much as it was shocking. This was all wrong. His lips tingled and burned.

No!

They both split apart, Linnette turning her back to him while she covered her mouth with her hand.

Why had he kissed her? Was that really his form of apology? Who was she to question? That was how Victor and Cedric apologized to her. They always hugged and kissed her when they were in the wrong. That must have been how it was for everybody.

Her thinking was all wrong though. That wasn't what had happened at all. But it was too soon for her to realize it then.

In the meantime, Ichigo had his own troubles. The shock of the kiss was enough to rattle his brain. It was like being sucker punched. He couldn't tell up from down and his head was swirling inside of a vortex. It brought him to his knees and from there onto his back.

With a look of disappointment and shame, Cedric cast a sad eye on Ichigo before giving a similar look to Victor.

In the meantime, Victor never looked more pleased. Putting an arm around Linnette, he led her away from where Ichigo lay in the grass. Once at the distance he wanted, Victor knelt before her like a knight to his queen.

"Sweetie, just once… Just once let me hear it."

She looked at him, puzzled. "Huh?"

"A note. I want you to sing a single note for me. Please. Just once."

"But…" She gave him a worried and hurt look. "But I can't. You know I…"

"Try." He stroked her hand with his. "For me."

Nodding once and took in a breath, expecting failure. But instead, when she opened her mouth, out came a beautiful sound. That single note was like hearing an angelic chorus. Victor smiled as if he had just stared into heaven itself, closing his eyes, feeling the music run deep through him. Her voice sent a pleasant chill down Cedric's spin. It was heavenly.

Linnette's voice stopped, but her mouth remained open in silent awe. Eyes wide, a nervous chuckle escaped her, soon turning into genuine laughter. Victor and Linnette embraced each other, him swinging her around in his arms happily.

It was back. Her voice was back.

* * *

><p>Please review! The excitement is starting! XD<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

They took Linnette back to her hotel room to change. Victor and Cedric remained out in the hall, waiting for her. She was taking her time to get dry and dressed in something nice. She couldn't decide what to wear and she wanted to get her hair just right.

But it didn't matter. Such a thing didn't concern Cedric at the moment. He hadn't stopped shooting dirty looks at Victor since they returned from the park. Victor never paid him any attention, though. Cedric debated whether or not he even was aware of him.

Without turning, Victor spoke the first words he had in all this time. "What is it, Cedric?"

Cedric said nothing.

"Talk to me, brother dear."

"I'm ashamed to call you brother if that is true."

"We were both born from the same person in the same way. Why wouldn't we be brothers? We're the same, you and I."

"Then why are you the more devious one?" Victor didn't answer him, urging Cedric to talk more. "You're so conniving and deceiving."

Victor turned to him. "Whatever are you talking about?"

"The innocent act may mislead some, but not me. In that, we are the same. I can read you all too well. Now answer me. What did you do to Ichigo Kurosaki?"

Victor chuckled after a moment. "I didn't drug him, if that's what you mean." He put a hand over his heart as if swearing an oath. "Taint the food Linnette eats to get to him? I would never put her in harms way no matter what."

"I'll ask you again, Victor. What did you do to him?"

Victor started to turn away when Cedric grabbed him, forcing him back around. The momentum and force of the sudden unwanted turn caused something to fall loose from Victor's pocket. A small bottle fell out of his inside jacket pocket and onto the floor. Without a word, Cedric picked it up. Victor never made a move to stop him.

Linnette's hand sanitizer. No. That was in her bag. He saw Victor put it away himself. And Cedric was the one carrying her bag and he felt it in there. This was something else. He knew what it was.

He waved it in Victor's face. "What's in here? It's not hers. What's in it?"

Rather than looking guilty, Victor looked proud. "An aphordisiac."

"What?"

Now he knew what had happned. There were two identical bottles. One was Linnette's, the other was the tainted one Victor had filled and intended for Ichigo. Linnette used hers in front of Ichigo, leading him to believe it was safe, which it was. But when it was passed to Ichigo, it went to Victor first. At that point, he had made the switch, giving Ichigo the tainted one. After he had returned it, Victor had put it in his coat pocket, placing the real one back in Linnette's bag.

"It's a fast obsorbing aphrodisiac," Victor explained. "It gets obsorbed through the skin and takes a few minutes to kick in. Linnette was never in any danger, even if he were to touch her using the hands he put the cream on. It was starting to wear off, so I had to make sure he kissed her then and there."

"Why? Why would you use such a thing on him? Don't you know how dangerous it is?"

"I told you, Linnette was never in any danger. Certainly not with that amount. Second of all, I would never allow Ichigo to have relations with her. I'd stop it before that happened." He folded his arms, leaning against the wall. "I had to change my approach. I knew he'd be suspicious of anything I tried to feed to him, so I did something unexpected. And it worked like a charm."

"All this just to get that kiss out of him?"

"It worked, didn't it?"

Cedric was beside himself. To go so far because of this… "She never wished for it."

Victor looked up. "Hm?"

"She never wished for it. You acted on your own."

"But I can read her heart. I understand her."

"As do I."

Victor shook his head. "Not the way I can. When she spoke of her ability, she was saddened by it. She hated losing it. It made her happy, don't you see?"

"She's happy now, isn't she?"

"Not happy enough. I brought back what she missed most."

"At what cost?"

Victor turned away. "What cost? Everything turned out fine, didn't it?"

"Ichigo's collapse?"

"None of my concern. He was only a tool anyway. After all, he was the one responsible for taking it away, wasn't he?"

"So you hate him?"

"No, no. Not hate. Never hate. Without him, I couldn't very well get her powers back, now could I?"

"Only a tool, is he?"

Victor nodded, his back to Cedric. "I don't care what happens to him. It's none of my concern."

Acting without thought, Cedric's hand shot out, fingers pointed and plunged into the wall above Victor's head, stiring up his blond hair.

Victor glanced up, not all that concerned, and studied Cedric's hand pertruding out of the hole he had just made. "Attacking me, are you? What's gotten into you, Cedric?"

"He's important to her." Cedric pulled his hand back out, taking the insulation and plaster with him as he did. "Have you forgotten that Ichigo is the reason we came back? Why we are the way we are?"

"That wouldn't have been nessacarry if he hadn't taken her powers away in the first place, huh, Cedric?"

He couldn't argue that point. "But now Linnette is a different and better person. She's not as selfish as she was and she cares about others now, no longer looking at them as playthings as we've taught her. She's learning. Which is what Ichigo wanted for her. He told her that she would find true happiness if she did and she has."

"But she's still sad, isn't she?"

"At times, yes, but who isn't? The important thing is that we can help her through it. We're there for her."

"Yes, exactly, Cedric." Victor walked in front of Linnette's door, touching the wood with his figertips. "We are there for her. I'm always going to be there for her. To make her happy and grant her wishes. And singing makes her happy. I've done my job."

Cedric sighed. Another point he couldn't argue with. "But even though we are newer versions of our old selves, we are still Victor and Cedric, aren't we? We hold all their old memories. I remember what it was like for her back then. What she was like. What had happened. I remember all of the pain and horror that happened the last time her song was released. Why would you risk starting that all over again?"

Victor's reply was soft and heartfelt. "I wanted to hear it again."

Her song.

"But you have heard it before. You remember."

Victor shook his head. "I want to hear it with my own ears. These ears of mine. Not just a memory's. It's not the same as living it at the moment. Memories create longing, don't they? I want this. I need this."

Cedric brushed off the remains of the plaster on his hand with a sigh. "I see."

"You're not going to stop me, are you, Cedric? Will you stop her from her passion?"

He couldn't deny it. He stood tall and still, making no indication of doing anything but.

Victor nodded, fixing his tie. "Linnette is and will always be my little girl. Old or new, my love for her remains strong and true. I will never do anything to upset her or keep her from her happiness. I was created to stop the tears."

* * *

><p>"Ichigo… Ichigo!"<p>

He moaned.

"Looks like he's coming around."

"Ichigo, wake up. Ichigo."

He felt himself being lifted up by a pair of hands. His head flopped over into a chest, hearing the person's steady heartbeat.

"Ichigo, get up!"

He opened his eyes slowly and saw Rukia sitting on the ground beside him. He blinked, turning his gaze over to the person holding him. It was Kisuke.

"What happened, Ichigo?"

Honsetly, he couldn't remember. "I'm not sure… One minute, I was…" He sat up rubbing his head. "I feel like I got hit by a truck."

"Did somebody punch you? Your lips are all red."

At once, it all came back to him. "Linnette!" He turned to Rukia. "Linnette kissed me."

"She did what?"

"She kissed you? When? How?"

Before he could come up with an answer to any of those questions, Kisuke was on his feet, pacing.

"This is not good at all. This isn't good…"

"Ichigo," Rukia said. "Where is Linnette now?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. After the kiss, I blacked out. I don't know where they went."

"Did you notice if her powers were back at all?"

He shook his head.

"I have a bad feeling that she did," Kisuke said. "We have to find them before things can get any worse. I don't think I need to remind you of what happened last time, do I?"

Ichigo was on his feet in a second and running right alongside Rukia. They had to find her. And fast.

* * *

><p>Victor led the way down the busy sidewalk towards the mall. They weren't planning on going in, they were just walking. Kids on bikes and children clinging to their parents passed them by without a care and that suited him just fine. He felt a squeeze on his own hand and looked down. Dressed in her new outfit, a blue skirt, light top and terquiose jacket that only overed her shoulders and half her top, Linnette happily bounced behind him. She was in a very good mood now. This was a good day.<p>

Cedric threw his arm out to guide Linnette closer to the wall as a group of boys on skatboards passed them by, talking and laughing. An old woman with a walker passed them by as well, shuffling slowly along. Linnette suddenly stopped, spotting a coin on the ground and picked it up. She put it into her pocket, never letting go of Victor.

This time, it was Victor who stopped, looking across the street. "See that Linnette? Over there."

She looked. There was a small open space across the street with a small wooden bench. It looked a lot like a bus stop, but the bench was too far from the street to be that. It must have just been a rest stop for joggers and people with children or pets who couldn't get too close to the street. It was right across from the pedestrian mall.

"Uh-huh. What about it?"

Smiling, Victor knelt beside her. "It looks like a good place to perform, doesn't it?"

Cedric frowned.

Linnette's face was crossed with too conflicting emotions. "I don't know… I'm not sure… I kinda want to, but I don't know…"

Victor stroked her hand. "It's fine, sweetie. It's just for fun. You'll be just like that woman with the violin the other day, remember? Wasn't that good fun?"

She nodded. "I guess so. Are you sure, it's fine?"

He nodded, still smiling. "Of course. It'll just be a little song. Can't hurt."

"You sure?" She sounded so shy compared to her usual carefree, energetic self.

Victor kissed her cheek. "I just want to hear you sing again," he whispered in her ear. "Won't you please sing for me, Linnette darling? Just like before. It's been so long. You've missed it, haven't you?"

She nodded.

Glancing up, Victor caught Cedric's gaze. Keeping contact, Victor stood up. "You want to hear her song again, don't you, Cedric?"

Linnette turned, wanting to see Cedric's answer. It was as if she were looking for his permission or approval.

This put Cedric in a tight spot. He would be lying if he said that he didn't want to hear her sing. Just like Victor, Cedric felt so alive when Linnette sang. It was a peculiar feeling, something he felt that he couldn't live without. Like reaching out and touching an angel's hand.

Sighing, Cedric gave his answer. "If that is what you wish. You may do what you want."

"So I can sing?" Her smile spread.

"Do it if that is what you want."

She jumped in the air with a cheer and hugged him. This was so exciting. Like going back home after years and years away in a new place. So many memories, such joy…

Victor led her across the street and over to the bench. Momentarily, he glanced back at the busy, bustling mall with a smirk. He reached into his jacket, touching something hidden inside. This was going to be fun.

* * *

><p>Their search was furitless and going nowhere fast. Linnette could be anywhere in this town by now. And at this hour, there were too many people to sift through. People getting home from work, students let out of school, shoppers… There was too much.<p>

"Ichigo."

Ichigo and Kisuke stopped and looked back at Rukia. She was on her Soul Pager. She held it up for them to see.

"Hollows. There was a sudden burst of Hollows in this area."

They looked around. "I don't see anything."

"That's the thing, Ichigo. These Hollows don't look normal at all. These are… strange."

"In what way?"

"Well," she studied her pager closely. "They come up as Hollows, but they don't read as Hollows. Like a block of Styrofoam being painted red to look like a brick. It looks like a brick, but it doesn't feel like one. Know what I mean?"

Kisuke looked around. "We'll have to deal with that another time. Right now we have to focus on Linnette. Where could she be?"

Now Ichigo was using his brain. Since she was wet, she most likely went back to the hotel to change. But that didn't take long, even if it took her an hour to try on clothes in the store. She was most likely on the move. The two places she liked to go the most were the park and the mall. Since they had just come from the park, that only left one place.

"I think I know where she is…"

Just as he turned to run in the direction of the mall, a large door opened in front of him. A Senkaimon. Two Soul Reapers emerged from it.

"Yo," Renji waved.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, a little annoyed.

Byakuya frowned at him. "Show some respect. We're here on asignment."

"Yeah," Renji added. "We just got a report that weird Hollows have been showing up around here. The weird thing is that it all happened in the last few minutes. We've been called here to investigate."

"Sudden appearance of strange Hoolows, their numbers growing rapidly… They had to send someone of at least lieutenant rank to investigate."

"I'll save you the trouble," Ichigo said. "It's gotta be Linnette."

"Who?"

"This girl. Long story… But look, she's the cause of this. I knew where she is. She's most likely at the mall. And you're gonna need my help to get there."

Byakuya and Renji exchanged looks.

"Very well," Byakuya sighed. "Lead the way, but remember that this is our mission. Not yours."

"It's my town and I know more about this than you do."

"Ichigo, don't talk to my brother that way!"

"Whatever…"

The group hurried to the mall. It was seven blocks away, but it may as well have been miles. It was the one place Ichigo didn't want to go but he had to. Linnette's song controlled hollows. The last time she sang, his Hollow took over completely. There was nothing he could do. If he heard her voice…

Ichigo suddenly stopped, nearly creating a pileup of people behind him.

"Thanks for nothing, idiot! What'd you stop like that for?" Renji barked.

He got his answer when he looked up and saw a massive cloud covering the street in front of them. It was thick and had a greenish tint to it. This wasn't naturally occurring. The thick cloud had caused a massive traffic jam in the street. Car horns were honking and people were shouting. But there was nothing anybody could do. The cloud was too thick for any of them to see an inch in front of their noses, making driving impossible. Even the people on foot couldn't brave the mass before them. People looked on in confusion and started making calls and taking pictures on their cell phones. This was freaky.

Rukia held out her pager. "The Hollows are all collected in there according to this."

"Then let's move it," Renji said taking out his Zanpakuto.

Byakuya stopped him. "Not just yet. Listen."

Amidst the horns and people talking loudly, they could hear something inside the cloud. It was faint, but there. Screaming. Screams and roars.

"Do you hear that?"

This came as no surprise to Ichigo.

Byakuya drew his weapon. "I'll go in first. We don't know what's on the other side. Stay here until I call you." The captain charged in, disappearing in the cloud.

Only seconds after he left did Rukia tug on Ichigo's sleeve. "Ichigo. Remember the last time this happened? When Linnette sang and all those Hollows showed up."

"Yeah."

"That screaming just now… You don't think..?"

"Yeah. I do."

* * *

><p>Think what? Think WHAT? Read and find out ^^<p>

Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

Inside the cloud was incredibly thick. The captain was having a hard time maneuvering around. At last he broke free onto the other side only to get a big surprise. Another cloud. No, this one was different. It was a purplish fog and it wasn't as thick as the green cloud behind him.

He took in a breath and let out a sigh. Something was in here. He took a step in. Then another. On the third, he saw something move. Stopping, he heard a growl from overhead. Looking up, he saw the silhouette of a large Hollow. It didn't seem to have noticed him yet. The perfect time for a surprise attack.

The Hollow moved towards him. Byakuya moved back, using the fog to his advantage. Or perhaps not. The fog was thicker than he thought. He coughed, choking on the thickness. The Hollow moved again. Thinking that it had spotted him, he jumped onto a car. Standing on the roof, he pointed his sword.

For a Hollow, this thing wasn't very aggressive. It seemed perfectly content listening to the sounds of its own growls. It turned its head from side to side, growling softly.

Byakuya coughed again, this fog getting to be too much for him. From the looks of it, though, it seemed to be dissipating. Good. He needed a clear shot at this Hollow. He moved in for the attack again.

"Brother, wait!"

Hearing Rukia's voice, Byakuya stopped mid-attack, looking behind himself. "Rukia, I told you to stay back there until I called."

Covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve, she moved closer to the car he was standing on. "Brother, don't attack it! Don't kill that Hollow!"

He lowered his blade, backing up. "What? Why?"

"It's not a real Hollow!"

He did a double take, not sure if he had heard her right. "What do you mean?" It sure looked like a Hollow to him.

"It's a human!"

Again, he wasn't sure it he had heard her right. "What?"

"That's a human being, brother!"

As the fog faded further, he could see the Hollow more clearly. It looked like a rhinoceros, only it walked on two legs and had six extra horns. Even the end of its mask was curved into a kind of beck. It looked like a Hollow.

Ichigo and Renji showed up as well, stopping to stand behind Rukia. "Listen to her, Byakuya!" Ichigo called. "That's a human!"

"How?"

"You ran off before we could tell you. Linnette can turn people into Hollows when she sings if they've been infected by a virus. That's an infected human!"

"And these ones can be seen by the living as well," Rukia added. "It's a human with the physical form of a Hollow, but they're not a real Hollow. They aren't Souls that have been transformed, they're still alive, even now! They've merely been infected! That's why they show up differently in the readings. We can't kill them!"

Byakuya jumped off the car and landed in front for her. "But once you've become a Hollow, there's no…"

"Actually that's not true," Kisuke interrupted, popping out of nowhere. "You see, this has happened once before. I managed to create a serum that can cure these people and they'll never become Hollows again. I did it before so I should be able to do it again. Especially now that I understand how it works. And these people will have no memory of what they've done while they were Hollows. They never do anyway."

Ichigo nodded. "He's right. We can cure them all. There's no reason to kill them."

Renji watched as the Hollow above them slowly wandered off. "Besides… it's illegal for a Soul Reaper, even a captain, to kill the living. If these people are still alive, it spells trouble for us. Right, Captain?"

Byakuya coughed again. "Understandable." He turned, looking further into the fog.

Lifting further, they could see the situation for what it was. Cars were piled up on both side for the street, some facing the wrong way or turned onto their side, some even coming to rest in the middle of the road. Some car doors were left wide open, indicating a hasty retreat or otherwise. A car beside them had been completely smashed from the inside, no doubt the driver becoming a Hollow from the inside and unable to escape in time. The street was littered with belongings and debris. A doll lay at Ichigo's feet, the owner nowhere to be found, bikes tossed aside and shopping backs strewn about, tissue paper in all directions and merchandise hanging out. The road was completely torn up, no doubt from Hollow activity. Large pieces of concrete were sticking up from the ground like sinking ships.

No humans could be found anywhere. However, they could hear screams coming from inside of the shopping mall to the right. Humans unaffected by the virus had barricaded themselves within the stores, watching the terror going on outside. With no back door to any of those shops and large Hollows blocking their only means of escape, they were forced into captivity. But at least they were safe.

A lizard Hollow passed them by, unperturbed by anything around it. These Hollows weren't attacking yet. The Hollow in front of them was trying to shake a purse free from its shoulder. This hostile creature was once a woman. Two frog-like Hollows were hopping next to them, each with similar masks and small bodies. Siblings, no doubt. And judging from their height and size, they were quite young, most likely children. Men, women, children, no one was safe from this transformation.

"You guys take care of Linnette," Kisuke said. "I'll go back to my shop and get the antidote. I saved plenty from the last time. Wait here for me, I'll be back as soon as I can."

Ichigo nodded. "Hurry back as soon as possible."

They each went their separate ways, Kisuke headed back towards the fog and the others going further in.

"What's the plan?" Renji asked. "I mean, we can't kill these guys…"

Ichigo's face twitched. He could hear it.

The song.

He spotted her across the street. She was standing on a wooden bench, her back turned to them. She was singing her heart out, loud and clear.

Ichigo's body started to shake. It was happening all over again.

She didn't seem to be aware of the Hollows at all. She could see Hollows, so why didn't see notice all of these ones? Even the living could see them without a problem.

Then again, maybe she couldn't. Thinking back, Ichigo realized that every time she sang at one of her concerts, she had her eyes closed. She sang with her eyes closed every time. It was also possible that when she sang, she couldn't hear anything but her own voice. It was very possible that she was deaf to anything else going on around her. No one really understood the extent of her powers, not even her. She probably didn't notice the Hollows at all or the people screaming inside the building across the street.

The others were looking around, hearing her voice as well.

"Alright. While we wait for the cure to be brought, we have to establish a plan. First off, we have to find Linnette. So we need to… When we find her, we have to… first off… stop her from singing. This song is con… controlling the Hollows, so that should… buy us some time. If the song stops, so do they… Correct? So that's what we need…" Byakuya was having trouble finishing his sentence. He looked up and nodded towards the direction of the song. "Is that her?"

The others turned. "Yes. That's her alright."

"Then the first thing we should do is… is…" Byakuya staggered.

"Brother, are you alright?"

He nodded. "I just felt a bit dizzy for a moment there. This fog is so thick… It's hard to tell which way up is from down."

Ichigo could feel his Hollow rising to the surface. They had to hurry. But this was strange. Normally her song would work in an instant. Now his Hollow was taking its sweet time taking over. Couldn't he do it? Was this a different song? Or could it be because her powers hadn't fully returned yet? Either way, Ichigo knew that every second counted. It was time for action.

"Ok. Rukia."

"Yeah?"

"We have to stop her from singing and keep the Hollows contained. If this is anything like the last time, they'll return to normal when her song stops. And if this really is anything like last time, it won't be easy to get close to her. Those two bodyguards of hers will be there to greet us. They'll do whatever they can to stop us from getting to her."

"Right. And just like before, they're impossible to defeat. They're inhuman. They don't bleed or get tired. They'll never stop."

They turned around at the sound of a thud. The captain of Squad 6 had been brought to his knees.

"Brother!" Rukia rushed to his side. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened?"

It was unlike Byakuya to fall to his knees. Something must have happened. Something horrible.

"I can't… I can't…" Byakuya was sweating and shaking. "Something's wrong with me. I don't feel right."

"Were you attacked? What..?"

Byakuya raised his head. "That song… It's echoing in my head… Ringing… I can't get it to stop. I can't get it out…" He lifted his gaze to Rukia. Her eyes met his yellow ones.

"Big brother…" she gasped. "You're…"

He was Hollowfying.

But how could this have happened? He wasn't a vizard. The last time this happened, it was because Hitsugaya and Yumichika ate the candy Victor made and…

Ichigo looked around. They were surrounded by roaring, moaning Hollows like in a zombie apocalypse film. Surrounded by Hollows and mist.

"The smoke!"

"Huh?"

Ichigo gestured to the fog around them. "It's the smoke. That's how all these people became Hollows. Victor released a smoke bomb with the virus in it. He didn't use candy this time. He's using smoke bombs!"

Rukia covered her mouth. "But we were breathing it in this whole time. Why aren't we..? Why only..?"

"No, look." Renji pointed. "There were two different colored smoke. The darker one's almost completely lifted. This is just the fog they're using for a cover."

"And Byakuya went in first while the smoke was still in effect. That must have been it."

In addition to that, Rukia had gone in with her mouth and nose covered, as did Renji and Ichigo. They didn't breathe enough in to be affected. And Ichigo was already a Vizard so the smoke wouldn't affect him anyway.

Byakuya's body convulsed and he let out a cry of pain.

"Brother!" Rukia held him tightly.

Between pants Byakuya managed to speak. "Rukia… Renji… If I become a Hollow. You know what to do."

Rukia didn't need to hear the command. She already knew. Renji returned her devastated look.

"Captain."

"You must…"

Kill him.

Byakuya wanted to die. No. He felt like he had no choice. If he became a Hollow like the others, he knew he deserved death, even if it wasn't his fault. He knew the laws. Gaining Hollow powers was punishable by death. If they didn't kill him, the Thirteen Courts would. At any rate, he knew what they had to do to Hollows. Even without the law, he knew what was right.

"That's crazy! Stop talking like that. No one needs to kill you," Ichigo said bluntly.

"He's right," Rukia added to her brother. "If this is anything like the last time, you'll return to normal once she stops singing. And Kisuke has an antidote that will reverse this and keep it from ever happening again. There's no need for you to die. We don't have to kill you."

"Nevertheless, to obtain Hollow powers… and to… become one…"

"But that's the thing. They're not real Hollows," Ichigo explained. "All these people didn't die and turned into Hollows. They're still living human beings. And your case is no different. You're only gaining the form of a Hollow, you're not actually becoming one."

Byakuya panted and turned his yellow eyes towards Rukia who nodded, confirming the truth. He gripped her hand tightly and she squeezed back. This pain was getting worse. "Alright. Then the first thing we have to do… is stop… her song…"

"Then let's do this. No time to waste!" Renji took out his weapon and charged towards the girl.

"Wait, you idiot!" Rukia called after him. "You can't just kill her!"

Renji stopped, halfway across the street. "And why not?"

"Because she's still a living human!"

He looked very surprised. "She is?"

"Yeah. It's just her power that's doing this. And isn't it against the law to kill the living?" Ichigo asked.

Renji lowered his sword. "Yeah, yeah… Hard to believe she's actually human. Then again, there is Orihime and Chad. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised."

"We have another problem, too. Her two bodyguards, Victor and Cedric." Rukia gestured towards the other side of the street where Linnette was still singing. "They're bound to be around. They'll protect her no matter what. They'll keep us from getting anywhere near her."

"Then we'll just take them down first. They're not human, right?"

"It's not that simple. They're her imaginary friends."

Renji started to laugh. He gave his eyes a roll. "Please. Isn't she a little old for imaginary friends? What is she, like, 13?"

"You don't understand, Renji. She created them. Because they're not real, we can't hurt them. They don't bleed or feel any pain. They'll just keep getting back up. Even we need rest. They don't. It'll never end."

While the two argued over what to do next, Ichigo fought hard to suppress the Hollow slowly clawing its way to the surface inside him. He couldn't hold out for much longer. He was stuck in a losing battle. Even covering his ears wouldn't work. Byakuya had even tried that as well to no avail. It was only a matter of time.

But something was off. The last time this happened, his transformation took only seconds. His whole body would freeze instantaneously. But she had been singing for several minutes with minimal changes to him and Byakuya. This transformation was slower than before. Why was that? Was this a new power or perhaps it was because she hadn't done if for so long? But Ichigo had no time to figure that out. He could already hear his Hollow growling for attention.

Byakuya squeezed Rukia's hand tightly and howled with pain. Rukia called out to him in concern. He writhed and moaned loudly. "That song..!"

"I know, I know, brother…"

"It's… That song… It's…" He tightened his hold on her arm. "Beautiful…"

Renji approached him. "Captain?"

"Brother?"

Byakuya shut his eyes tightly. "Rukia… You have to get away from me… Now… Hurry."

"No! I'm not leaving you. I'll look after you. I'll help you."

"You…" A sudden wave of pain took away the rest of his words.

"I'm not going to leave you and run away! I'll protect you! I'll keep you from hurting people. And yourself. Please, brother!"

Byakuya's hand clamped down on Rukia's arm. She flinched in pain. He held her tight.

"Brother?"

His grip tightened. He turned his glowing yellow eyes towards her, a growl growing louder in his throat. It grew more and more murderous. His left hand started to twist her arm.

"Brother… brother, you're hurting me."

Byakuya opened his mouth, moving closer. He increased pressure on her arm, her bones beginning to crack. His growl turned into a roar as he made a lunge for her face.

Taking action, Renji delivered a swift kick to his captain's face. Releasing her arm, Byakuya tumbled backwards across the asphalt.

"What are you doing?" Rukia shouted.

"He was going to attack you! I had to do something. Hopefully he won't remember that when he's back to normal."

Byakuya crouched on all fours shook his head and looked up at the sky. He let out a howl. Turning his head, they could see a mask forming across the left side of his face. Soon he would be like all the others. Even now, he didn't recognize these Soul Reapers as anything but fast-food.

"We've got to stop that song. Now!"

"Right. Ichigo, you go-"

"Go where?" His voice had changed.

Turning, the two saw Ichigo's yellow eyes staring at them. His Hollow had taken over.

Ichigo shut one of his eyes, fighting for control that he would surely lose again. "It's not me! It was my… I can't!"

"Ichigo..?"

"Just stop her..!" Ichigo reeled back, holding his head in pain. "Hurry up! I'm…" He stopped thrashing and lowered his arms. "Sorry about that."

"Ichigo?"

A twisted grin appeared on his face. "Sorry, Ichigo's not in right now. Can I take a message?"

It was too late for Ichigo. He was long gone.

Rukia pointed. "Renji, you go try to stop her. I'll make sure these two don't do anything too crazy."

"Got it."

Renji and Rukia went their separate ways.

Leaping over abandoned cars, Renji made his way to the other side of the street. As soon as he made it to the side walk he attempted to flash-step to the girl. He was met with a fist to the face. Renji was blown backwards back into the street, landing with his back on the edge of the sidewalk.

"That was very rude, you know."

He looked up.

Victor was standing in front of him looking as smug as ever. "Don't you know it's rude to interrupt a performance? Where are your manners?"

Renji got to his feet. "I take it you're one of her bodyguards?"

"You might say that. I'm Victor. And you?"

"Pissed off." Renji took up his sword and charged. "Since you're one of them, that means I can kill you!"

Victor effortlessly caught his blade in his left hand. "Kill? How can you kill something that's not even alive to begin with?"

Taken by surprise, Renji tried to force his weapon free. Victor wasn't even cut, despite holding the blade in his bare hand. He truly was superhuman.

Victor moved his head closer to Renji. "Please, don't disrupt the performance. It's been so long since I've last heard this song."

"Go to hell! It's that song that turned my captain into a Hollow!"

Victor didn't look the least bit upset. "And?"

"I figured you wouldn't care seeing as how you're the one that did it."

"'Who'," he corrected. "I'm the one 'who' did it. I'm not a 'that'. Your grammar's atrocious."

"Just get the hell out of my way so I can shut that girl up!"

Victor's relaxed face fell. "Well, I can't have that, now can I?" He raised his right hand to Renji's face and gave a flick of his finger. With surprising force, Renji was propelled backwards and into a parked car, shattering the windshield. Before he could make a move, Victor was on top of him. He grabbed a fistful of red hair and threw Renji through the air.

"I'll never let you get anywhere near my precious little diva."

Renji turned his head and saw Victor in his face. He raised his arm for another strike. Renji prevented his own beheading with a deft block of his own weapon. They clashed. Sparks flew in every direction. The two landed on the ground, far from where Linnette stood singing. But there was no getting to her with Victor around. Victor came at Renji again. The lieutenant bent over backwards in a kind of limbo to avoid getting his throat slashed. Before he could come back up, he felt Victor's heel on the side of his leg, sending him crashing down.

He blocked, but not where he needed to. Victor delivered two attacks, one in the shadow of the other. While he attack Renji's head with his right, he sliced open his arm with the left. Victor ripped the weapon from Renji's grasp and threw it aside. Renji covered the exposed cross section of his forearm with his left hand and rolled out of the way before Victor could land another attack.

Sirens wailed in the distance, coming closer. Distracted, Victor looked up. Renji followed his gaze to a small group of red flashing lights they could barely make out through all the mist. The police had shown up. Renji was afraid this would happen. It was only a matter of time before the authorities got curious about the disturbances going on around the block.

Hearing car doors slamming and voices shouting, Victor frowned. "They'll disrupt the whole performance." He straightened up and made his way over to greet them, leaving Renji behind to nurse his wounds.

Several police officers gathered together with their weapons drawn to investigate. The fog was too thick to make out anything clear. As they moved closer, they could see a tall shadow looming over them. It was three times the size of a human being and wore a white mask. It's yellow eyes glanced down their way. Frightened, they got into position and prepared to unload.

"Stop this at once."

They held their fire, hearing a man's voice from the fog. Victor stepped in front of the monster without so much as batting an eye.

"You, sir! Get out of there!"

"Come here, away from that thing! Hurry!"

"Get away from it!"

Victor calmly turned his head to look back at the Hollow no longer interested in the police or their weapons. It didn't seem to care. "Oh. Oh, don't mind him. He seems much more interested in his own howling and moaning, don't you agree?"

"Get away from there, sir! Come here now!"

He turned back. "How funny. You can see them, too? Ah. Guess I shouldn't be surprised. The same thing happened in New York. Human Hollows can be seen by anyone." Victor looked up at another Hollow standing just a short distance away near a turned-over car. "But you still can't see them, can you?" Normal Hollows were beginning to show up as well now.

"Sir, get out of there and come here!"

"Sir, now, or we'll open fire! Hurry!"

Victor looked back at them. "You mustn't do that. It'll ruin everything."

"Sir, now!"

"Linnette simply hates gunshots. For her to get upset would ruin the whole performance. I can't have that."

"Now, sir! Move it!"

Victor walked forward, but he wasn't complying. "No. I'm afraid I have to ask you to move it."

The police looked confused.

"I'll ask you only once to put your guns away and leave this place."

One of the officers pointed a gun at him. "Get down on the ground! Now!"

Victor walked forward, slowly.

"I said on the ground, now!"

Victor stopped. He cocked his head to the side and vanished. When he reappeared, he was holding every single gun the men had in his arms. "It's not polite to point. And how dare you so much as threaten me with these things. Have you no class?" He dropped the guns on the ground and stomped on them, breaking them all as if they were made of glass.

Weaponless and scared out of their minds, the police were at a loss for words and a plan of action.

"Now I'll ask you again…" Victor stopped in front of one of the police vehicles and placed his hand on the hood. "Do not disrupt the performance. Are we clear, gentlemen?" He caved the hood in with his bare fist with little to no effort in the slightest.

A couple of officers took several steps back, frightened. This man was inhuman.

One of the officers ordered the attack. Four men rushed him. Victor took action. His spinning left arm was successful in lopping off one of the men's right arm at the elbow. He screamed and fell back. To prove himself as the superior threat, Victor then lifted up one of the cars off the ground with his bare hands and threw it. It slammed into two other cars before landing on its hood. The men scattered. Victor wouldn't let them get away. He chased after them, one by one. He grabbed one from behind and threw him into the air.

From where he stood, Renji could see it all happen in the blink of an eye. Victor was out of control. Something had to be done.

Victor threw another man into a parked car while he strangled another. "The performance will go on. I will not allow any of you to disturb her singing! Her wonderful, beautiful singing!" Victor dropped the officer to his knees and kicked him aside. "Her song will go on!"

Unable to find his zanpakuto, Renji had no choice but to pick up the only other weapon he could find. Grabbing a sharp piece of metal, he charged at Victor with every intention of killing him.

But that was impossible.

Without even looking, Victor grabbed Renji's weapon with his free hand, freezing it in place.

"Seriously…" He turned. "Did you honestly think that would work?"

Dropping the officer in his left hand, Victor turned to Renji. His right arm swung, slicing horizontally across the top of the metal in Renji's hand. The weapon broke into pieces and flew into the air. From there, he sliced into Renji's stomach with the tips of his fingers. Like four powerfully sharp razors, they split open the lieutenant's abdomen, soaking the front of his kimono with fresh blood. He looked at the man coolly as he dropped to his knees. Victor's face was soaked in the crimson spray of multiple victims, watching with a smirk as Renji landed flush on the earth.

"It was stupid of you to try to stop me. You should have run away while you had the chance."

"And let you kill those guys? They were just doing their job, why kill them?"

Victor chuckled. "They were in the way. If Linnette wants to sing, let her sing with no interruptions. And I want to hear her sing. I only want what's best for her."

"Oh, really? And is killing innocent people and turning them into Hollows good for her?"

"And it is for that reason she can't see all this. Why do you think the fog was put into place? She has no idea what all this is or what's going on. She doesn't even know that I created that serum that turns people into Hollows. She's in the dark and it's going to stay that way. Knowing all this horror would only frighten her."

Renji had a feeling that was the case. "So she really has nothing to do with this. It's all you."

Victor raised his arm, fingers points into a fleshy sword. He looked at the fountain of blood oozing from Renji's body. Intending to put Renji out of his misery, Victor leapt to give the killing blow. "Farwell, Soul Reaper."

From out of nowhere came a flash. Victor's arm was met with another. Renji blinked. Standing in front of him was the second bodyguard. Cedric's back was facing Renji as he shielded him from Victor's attack.

"What are you doing, Cedric? What's the meaning of this?"

"Enough is enough, Victor! Stop it!"

Victor's face changed to one of anger and confusion. Their arms trembled equally as each one tried to force the other's away. "So what's this mean then?"

Cedric didn't hesitate. "We were created by Linnette because she needed us. She wanted a family. She didn't want to be alone or in pain or afraid anymore. She wanted to be taken care of. And she still wants that."

"I'm aware of that, Cedric."

"It was her desire that brought us life! We're here because of her."

"I know that!"

"Then you also know that we're here for her sake. We're here to help her. To raise her and give her what she needs."

"We are doing that."

"No, we're not, Victor! You are doing what you want! This isn't helping her!"

He laughed. "She wanted to be loved. To be a star!"

"She wanted love, yes. And she also wanted attention. Being a star was her way of doing that. But that isn't what she needs! Remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Linnette's changed now, for the better."

"Better? How? The poor girl's voice was rendered useless thanks to Ichigo!"

"But he taught her that she can be happen and have the love of real people by not blackmailing or forcing them! We're the new versions of our old selves, Victor. As Linnette's changed, so have we. She wanted help to learn how to be that kind of friend Ichigo wanted her to be. He told her that she could be happy without all that. She didn't know how to because no one ever showed her and it wasn't our job to teach her that back then. Now it is!"

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that this has gone too far. You're not thinking of her anymore. You're thinking about yourself and what you want!"

"She wanted to be loved. She wanted to be a star! She wanted to sing and still does! How am I taking it too far? I'm only doing what she wants!"

"What she wants or what you want, Victor?"

Victor's arm broke free from Cedric's and stood, sizing up his partner and fellow incarnation. "Have you forgotten that it is her voice that gave us life? Her voice that makes us feel so good inside when she sings? When she sings, we feel life in us again. It's angelic and beyond words. It reminds us that we are here!"

"And it's also done this!" Cedric pointed to the army of Hollows roaring in the streets, attacking random cars and streetlights. "And it's also because of you! This isn't what she said she wanted!"

"She wanted to sing! She wanted attention! She wanted to be loved!"

"And she is! But not by doing this! This isn't what she wanted or what she asked for. This is your doing! She was happy before all this. Why does that have to change?"

"Because now she can sing again."

"So? She was happy without her voice. Why can't you be?"

"Because I need it!" Victor attacked Cedric with his hand. Cedric blocked. "I need to hear her sing! And the Hollows are just a bonus. I want things to be the way it used to be! She was happy that the Hollows liked her so much! They never turned away or lost interest in her voice! Humans are different! They have different likes and attention spans. Hollows will always love her! That's why I created them! That's why I did this! For her! All for her!"

"She didn't need it! She didn't ask for it! And she was plenty happy before with us!"

"I want to give her more!"

"Why? She didn't ask for it!"

"She doesn't have to!"

"She was better off without her voice! She was happy before!"

Victor's eyes flashed with hatred and fury. "Her voice is EVERYTHING to me! She's all I have! How the hell is that better?" He slashed at Cedric, but he jumped back. "I will not let her be silent again! She loves to sing and she will SING!"

He lunged forward at Cedric attempting to slice him in half.

"I'm not your enemy, Victor! I'm trying to breathe some sense into you!"

"You and I want different things! I want her to sing and be happy, and you want her to be silent and miserable!"

"That's not the case! She was happy without her voice! You know I'm right!"

"Shut up!"

"We're here to raise her right so she won't have to force friendship on anyone and will be able to keep friends who will care for her willingly. She'll be happy with that just as much, if not more than she would by us giving her things that will only vanish! We're here for her sake!"

Victor jumped up onto a nearby car and darted towards Cedric. "Her song will remain if that is her wish! If she wants to sing and if it makes her happy, I'll make sure it happens!"

Cedric dodged and Victor sliced through the ground with his hand, sending a shower of sparks and stone hurling through the air.

"And you want to keep that from her." Victor turned, breathing bloodlust through his teeth. "That is why I must end you."

"You will kill an immortal being such as yourself? One of Linnette's only two eternal companions in this world?"

"She'll still have one when this is over."

* * *

><p>Wow. o_o'<p>

Please review! ^-^


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

Running across the broken street as fast as she could, Rukia raced to the grass on the other side. Dodging Hollows left and right, she found that they weren't her only obstacle. Overturned cars and abandoned bikes were another. The street was in ruin. Massive Hollows had broken up the street like fragile crackers with all their activity. She had even lost sight of her brother. And judging from the song in the air, it was safe to assume that Renji was unsuccessful in stopping Linnette. Now it was up to her before more innocent people got hurt.

She jumped onto a large piece or gravel and looked around. The fog wasn't fading. Perhaps that was a good thing. It meant that no one would see the Hollows roaming around the street. But it was only a matter of time before people got curious as to the ruckus going on. Everything on the entire block was in fog. Everything between the pedestrian mall and grassy area surrounded by trees were swarming with Hollows. Traffic in the intersection had slowed to a crawl and all traffic from this corner to next had stopped completely due to the roadblock made by abandoned cars and Hollow attacks. Even with the song on the wind and the Hollow's roars, Rukia could still make out the faint shouts of the people who barricaded themselves within the shops, hiding from the Hollows outside. This truly was chaos.

Rukia jumped down and ran over to a nearby truck and hid herself while she caught her breath. This gave her a minute to think. She looked at the girl standing on the bench across the street, still singing her heart out. The truck was right next to the sidewalk. Linnette was only a few yards away. This was the closest she had been to her all this time. She looked around.

Where were her bodyguards? It was hard to believe that Renji had defeated both of them on his own knowing their difference in skill and anatomy. This was her perfect chance to stop Linnette herself if this wasn't a trap. But she needed a plan. What if it was a trap? And if Renji wasn't here, then where was he? Was he defeated? Did she dare dart across that grass to Linnette? It seemed too easy. She took another look. Linnette's back was to her. She wasn't even aware of Rukia's presence. Now was her chance.

Low growling caught her attention. It was coming from overhead. She slowly looked up.

Standing on top of the truck was a Hollow. It wore a white mask that ended at the jaw and folded back like a carapace to the bottom of the skull. It had the body and head of a velociraptor. Long strands of black hair stuck out from where mask met neck. It's yellow eyes roamed the sky, searching. A scarf was wrapped around its ankle.

She knew who it was.

"Brother…"

Byakuya's masked head looked down at her voice. Without hesitation, he opened his mouth and unleashed a loud, monstrous roar. He raised his claws, ready to kill.

"Brother! Brother, no!" Rukia jumped aside as he jumped down from his perch. He landed in front of her, his forceful landing causing the ground under him to splinter and crack. He stood tall in front of her. He had no idea who she was. She was only food to him now, and he was so hungry. Talking sense to him would have just been a waste of time.

Rukia backed away. He followed, matching her steps. He was drooling. He growled again and came closer.

"Brother, it's me. Rukia. Don't you know me at all?"

He didn't. He opened his mouth and roared like a hungry beast. He stood tall, raising his clawed hands and prepared to strike.

The sound of tires squealing stopped the attack. Both looked up. A pair of headlights were heading right for them. Byakuya grunted, not knowing what these strange things were. The engine revved and sped up. Squinting, Rukia could make out a green striped hat sitting behind the driver's seat.

"Out of the way, Rukia! Move!"

Rukia dove out of the way as the van suddenly turned to one side, skidding and plowing into her brother, pinning him to the side of the truck. Sandwiched between the two vehicles, Byakuya screeched and struggled, trying to break free. It was pointless. He was there to stay.

Kisuke stepped out of the other side of the van and brushed himself off, not seeming too concerned about the condition of his car. "Whoo! Not a bad parking job, right?"

"What were you thinking? You could have hurt someone or killed him!" Rukia scolded.

"Nah. Even if he was still a Soul Reaper, something like this would have been nothing. I had to stop him and get here so I figured why not?" He opened the door to the van and pulled out a box of darts. He also handed her something that looked a lot like a squirt gun. "I know they're small, but they can give you a better shot at a distance. I've loaded them with darts. Start shooting the human Hollows. The regular Hollows are to be dealt with the old fashioned way. Got it?"

Rukia nodded and helped herself to some extra darts. "So these have the antidote in them?"

"As long as it's the same as it was last time, yes. Let's just hope our friend Victor hasn't changed the serum."

Rukia clicked her loaded gun. "Yeah. Let's hope." She turned back to her brother. "I'll change him back first."

Kisuke shook his head. "Don't waste them on him yet. He's trapped and isn't going anywhere. We need to focus on the humans running amuck in the streets. We have to cure them first before anything really bad happens."

"What? But it won't matter if I change Byakuya back now, will it? It'll just take a second."

"I'm just saying that we should work on the living first and save him for later."

"But later might be too late! Please!"

"I told you, he's…"

Giving a roar, Byakuya pushed the van aside, freeing himself from the metal sandwich. He fell to his feet and ran off. Rukia pointed her gun at him, but he was already gone.

"Damn…"

"Don't worry, Rukia. We'll cure him. And now that he's not pinned anymore, I don't have any problem with you hunting him down and curing him now." Kisuke raised his own gun. "Let's do this."

* * *

><p>Cedric followed Victor like a shadow. He jumped. Victor dodged. Their arms clanged together like a pair of swords, echoing through the air. They sprang apart, only to quickly came back at each other with another attack. Victor spun, slicing in a downward angle. Cedric avoided the attack and flipped over backwards. He darted left and their arms collided again. The heel of his right foot sunk into Victor's stomach, sending him flying backwards into a truck. The hard metal side bent like tinfoil under Victor's body. The impact didn't rattle him at all. He placed his feet behind his knees and leaned forward, preparing to spring. He shot off like a rocket with enough force and power to send the truck rolling. Cedric's arm blocked Victor's and they both went skidding backwards into another car. They both flattened the roof like a pair of wrecking balls. Glass burst from the windows and flew in all directions.<p>

"I want her happiness, Cedric."

"I want that, too."

"No, you don't." Victor slashed at him with his other arm. "You want her to be silenced forever!"

"I never said that!" He blocked with his free hand and managed to swing his legs up to kick him in the chest. "She's happy now."

"Only because she's singing."

"She was happy before that, too."

Victor flexed his fingers. "I can give her more. Why should she have to settle for mediocre joy when she can have true blissful ecstasy?"

"You think that's what she has now?"

Victor sneered. "She hasn't stopped, now has she?"

They flew at each other again.

* * *

><p>Standing on her perch, Linnette sang. She sang her heart out.<p>

The feelings she had missed so much, the sound of her voice… it was intoxicating. She had almost forgotten how good it was to sing. She loved it. She missed it so much.

As she sang, tears began to flow forth from the corner of her eyes. Her song was even more beautiful than she had remembered. But that wasn't why she was crying. It was from the joy of getting it back. It was a feeling no one could understand unless they had lost something so important to them. Like a crippled man walking again for the first time in years, or the blind being able to see once more. It was incredible.

She put all of her heart and soul into her song, singing like never before. She had it back. The thing that meant so much to her had returned. Her voice told a story, it had a legacy. It brought back memories. It was her passion to sing. Whenever she was sad or alone, she would sing. It seemed to bring her good fortune. After all, that was how Victor and Cedric came to be. Even without them around, her song brought her the reassurance she needed. That everything was going to be alright. That she didn't need to be scared or in pain anymore. That it was all over with.

It felt so good to sing again and she couldn't stop. Her talent was back. She could make her art again, painting the sky with her song.

She was so happy.

All she could hear was her song and nothing else. It could have been the end of the world and never know it.

* * *

><p>Renji darted across the street, clutching his stomach wound with his hand. He was bleeding out fast. Where was Orihime when you needed her? He climbed over a smashed car and landed on the other side, catching his breath. His sword was useless and lost, he was injured and there were human Hollows everywhere. "Damn it all."<p>

"Mom?"

Renji looked around.

"Mom, where are you?"

"Mommy?"

He found a pair of little boys sneaking around the corner. They weren't Hollows. They must have escaped the gas somehow. Were they from the other side? Did they brave the massive fog? Or were they from inside one of the buildings? He didn't know.

They kept wandering around nervously, looking everywhere. They kept calling for their mother.

"Damn kids… Their mom's probably a Hollow like the others. Get outta here!"

They couldn't see Renji or hear his voice. They wandered into the street, still calling for her. "Mommy! Where are you? I wanna go home!"

"Mom, I'm scared! Mom!"

A large Hollow turned its massive head. It looked in their direction with a growl. It opened its mouth wide. The two children looked up and screamed. The Hollow snapped at them and the two took off running.

"Mom, help!"

"Mom!"

"Damn kids!" Renji jumped into action, forgetting that he didn't have a weapon on him. Kido was his only defense. But he couldn't kill this Hollow. If they could see it, it was human. "What the hell do I do?"

The kids were running towards another Hollow head-on. This one they couldn't see. A real Hollow. It roared and got ready to kill.

"No!" Renji jumped. "Get away from them! Run left! Left!"

Still the kids couldn't hear him.

"Damn it! I'm never gonna make it in time."

He didn't. But someone else did. An arrow shot out from behind a demolished bike rack and into the Hollow. Dressed in white, Uryu climbed over the wreckage and over to the children. Picking them up under his arms, Uryu jumped away from the Hollow chasing them and over to Renji.

"Get inside somewhere," Uryu told them. "Get inside or get out of the fog."

The boys sniffled. The oldest of the two looked like he was in second grade. They were so young and scared out of their minds. "But our mom…"

"She's probably waiting for you outside the fog. Or maybe she's looking for you inside. I don't know for sure, but you have to get out of the street and away from those monsters, ok?"

"But I want my mom!"

"I know you do. Just listen to me, ok?" Uryu looked back at the Hollow behind them. "Hurry up before you get eaten. Go!"

He pushed the kids towards the nearest building and they took off, crying and running as fast as they could.

Renji looked at him. "Where the hell'd you come from?"

"My house. I saw the fog from my window," Uryu explained. "What's going on? These Hollows aren't normal."

"Even you noticed that?"

"I'm a Quincy, of course I can tell." He saw Renji's wound. "What happened to you?"

"Never mind. I've gotta get back in there. My captain just turned into a Hollow and I know he's going to go after Rukia first. There's this kid who I've got to find. Her song makes these-"

"You mean Linnette's here?"

Renji looked at him, crossed. "Does everyone know about this but me? Is it so hard to be kept in the loop once in a while?"

"Never mind that. You can't go anywhere with that hole in your gut. You'll die if you don't get patched up soon." He pulled out a small white box. "Luckily, I brought along my emergency medical kit just in case. I figured that I'd need it in this situation."

All Renji could do was stare at him. "You're a freak, you know that? But as long as you're here, heal me up as fast as you can."

* * *

><p>Cedric sailed through the air and crashed into a fruit stand. He hit a support pole which sent the roof crashing in on top of him. The display stand he landed on broke under his weight and crashed to the ground. Victor landed on a car in front of him.<p>

"I told you! I'm doing this for her! It's better this way!"

Cedric threw an apple at his head. "She said that she wanted to change! She wanted to have people who would never leave her! True friendship! How is this getting her that at all?"

Victor stomped a hole in the car's roof, reached inside and ripped out one of the car seats, throwing it at him. "She's happy! She has her voice back! She has the attention she craves! If she didn't want it, then why the hell is she still singing?" He threw another seat at Cedric. "Answer me that!"

Cedric kicked the second chair away with his left foot. He picked up the broken stand and threw it at Victor, returning fire. "Maybe because she has no idea what you've done! If you truly think that she'd want this then why are you hiding it from her?"

"I have my reasons!" Victor caught one of the boards of wood and threw it back at him. Cedric caught it before it hit his head and returned it. Victor jumped, avoiding it by inches. "My darling diva will sing and sing she shall!"

"You're selfish, Victor! I'm sorry to call you a brother!"

"Brother? Just because she gave us both life you think that makes us related? Please! I never thought of you as such! Friend perhaps, but never a brother."

That wasn't what he impiled before at the hotel. "Then I take it that our friendship is over, eh?"

Victor picked up the car he was standing on. "You tell me." He threw it.

Cedric ducked allowing the car to sail into the building behind him with a crash. "And what of her? She created me, too. What if you do succeed in destroying me? What will you tell her?"

"That you never truly cared about her and it's for the best. At least she'll still have me."

"That's what I'm afraid of. She may have a relapse if I'm not there to balance it out. That's why I cannot lose this fight."

"Well, I'm not losing either!" They flashed away and reappeared in the sky, their arms once again doing the talking for them. They disappeared and reappeared back on the ground, this time in the courtyard. Picking up a trashcan, Cedric threw it at his ex-friend, tripping him. He aimed for the neck. Victor grabbed his arm and the two did a summersault in the air and sprang apart on opposite sides for the courtyard. Victor cart-wheeled across the cement ground and kicked Cedric in the jaw. Such a hit would have broken the bone of a normal human, but both of them weren't so. Cedric grabbed Victor's ankle and threw him aside. Victor tried the hit again. Cedric grabbed his leg and threw him once more. Only this time, Victor grabbed hold of the man's arm, taking Cedric with him. Despite the hard hit, they both quickly got to their feet.

"I love my little diva…" Victor breathed.

"And I love my little girl…" Cedric told him.

"See? You don't even acknowledge her voice."

"That isn't all she is."

"But that's the part of her that brought us here. Her voice is life-giving. I want to keep it."

"I prefer the package to the gift itself."

"And that is why I can never understand you. How can she be truly happy with a man like you living her life for her? I can give her true happiness. You don't care about her at all!"

They collided once again. They slashed at each other in a blur of fists and arms. There was no art or expertise to their swordplay. It was simply a whirlwind-like frenzy. Each swing was fast and heavy. Cedric wasn't able to block every strike. Victor's arm tore into him like a blade, slashing apart his clothing like wet paper.

Both were determined to win, believing that they were the proper guardian for little Linnette. Neither one was going to back down.

Victor was on him again. He slashed away at Cedric body. But no matter how many times he made contact, he wasn't going to bleed. He grabbed Cedric's head and twisted it back, attempting to rip it off. Cedric followed his movement, flipping over backwards and sitting on Victor's shoulders. He bent over again backwards, taking Victor down into a nosedive with him trapped by his legs. Victor grabbed onto Cedric's ankles and turned his body, resulting in both of them heading for earth in an end-over-end summersault. They both crashed through another truck before smashing into the street together with a massive boom.

Both emerged fine. Even that wasn't enough to kill either one of them. They stared each other down before leaping at one another again. They grappled with each other, wrestling the other to the ground.

"She's my diva!"

"She's my little girl!"

"Let her sing!"

"Not if it results in more of this!"

"Do it!"

"Never!"

"Bastard!"

"You'd know!"

They took each other down.

Victor latched onto Cedric's arm and pulled him up off them ground. Cedric wouldn't let him complete the attack. He shot off the ground like a rocket, taking Victor along for the ride. Victor turned his body, punching Cedric in the face. Still soaring through the air, Cedric punched him back. They were going so fast, they matched the speed and power of a large bullet. Acting as such, they didn't even notice the Hollow they had just shot through, killing it. They plowed through another Hollow's leg, wounding it but not doing any real damage. Both emerged covered with blood and goop. They kept going until a third Hollow's body stopped them. They went tumbling to the ground, bouncing off the ground and rolling over and over again and again before finally skidding to a stop.

Panting, both got to their feet. They spotted each other on opposite sides of a car, glaring at one another. They flexed their hands and took their stances.

They attacked.

Grabbing each other by their shirts, the two flew up into the sky. Cedric looked down out of the corner of his eye and spotted a tall narrow building below them. He leaned back into a dive, taking Victor with him. He turned his body, spiraling down at an incredible speed. Victor wasn't going down that easily. He sunk his hand deep into Cedric's chest, piercing his body. Had he been human, he would have bled out, but he didn't. He just continued his fall with Victor's hand in his chest. At the last second, Cedric turned his body around and kicked Victor straight down into the building's roof where he disappeared.

There was a creaking noise as the metal shifted and started to brake apart. A shockwave billowed through the building. Giant cracks opened in the walls and ceiling, glass and rubble raining down. Victor was lost among the falling debris. He had nowhere to retreat. The building fell on his head, caving in on itself from the massive hit.

Cedric landed safely in the street, watching the building fall. Even so, he couldn't manage a smile. He knew even that wasn't enough to stop Victor. They were, after all, the same. If that couldn't kill him, it wouldn't damage Victor that much.

Sure enough, Victor came climbing out of the rubble and crumbled pieces of wall. He lifted a large piece that easily weighed ten times what he did off his back with one hand and threw it away.

"I won't stop 'til one of us is dead!"

"Then this will take one hell of a long time, considering that we're both immortal superhuman beings!"

"Then I'll set the record right now and kill you this instant!"

Cedric jumped onto a broken piece of building, avoiding Victor's attack. He dove down from the scaffolding, bringing a chunk of metal with him and attacked Victor. His foe avoided the attack and dragged his arm along Cedric's abdomen, splitting his shirt in half. Though he couldn't bleed, he felt the hit all too well. He crashed into the street.

He stood up shakily. Something was wrong. Normally he couldn't feel pain. Why did it hurt now? Was Victor finally wearing him down? Or was it that their bodies could only take so much before breaking? Cedric didn't want to wait around to find out. He had to finish this fight before it took his life.

* * *

><p>Please review! ^^<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

Shooting Hollows left and right, Rukia aimed carefully at every human Hollow she could find. The darts all met their mark, never missing once. But something was wrong. She turned, spotting Kisuke standing in the street with a dart gun in his hand.

"Why aren't they changing back?"

Kisuke shot another Hollow, the dart meeting its fleshy neck. "I don't know. They should have a reaction of some kind." He looked around. "Maybe it takes effect after she stops singing. She's still going!"

Rukia looked back at the bench, now even further away than before. "Linnette's still singing. That must be it. No matter how many Hollows we cure, it won't matter if she's still singing that song."

"We have to stop her before these Hollows return to normal." Kisuke put his gun away. "It probably won't matter how many we get if that's the case. We're just wasting our ammo."

Rukia took a quick look around. She had a clear shot at Linnette. "I'm going to get her!"

"Hurry, Rukia. Now even real Hollows are showing up."

Nodding, Rukia ran toward Linnette. A Hollow appeared, crossing the street with a low growl. A real one this time. Taking out her sword, Rukia jumped. Her right arm swung, the blade sliced horizontally, sending the Hollow's detached head sailing to the ground. Knowing there would be more, she didn't put away her weapon.

She heard cackling and turned. Ichigo was standing in the middle of the street, his skin as white as ivory, a mask slowing creeping over his face. His hair was getting longer by the second, now stretching down to his shoulders. He turned his head quickly from left to right, his fingers flexing as he did, eager for bloodshed.

"More… More, more, more, more, more, more! More! I need MORE!" He cocked his head to the right, creaking it. "I need more! I want more! I need it! I want it! I NEED it! MORE!"

This wasn't the Ichigo she knew.

He turned, spotting a Hollow. Smiling like a maniac, he got into position, crouching low to the ground. The Hollow above him roared, accepting his challenge. Ichigo sprang up, grabbing the Hollow's arm and twisting it off. Rukia winched at the sound of bones breaking apart and flesh ripping and tearing like paper. Ichigo threw the arm aside and started biting the Hollow's shoulder. It roared and bucked, trying to get him off.

"Give it to me! I want more!" He grabbed the Hollow's head and twisted it back. Rukia put a hand to her own neck as she watched the horrible display. Ichigo pulled the Hollow's head until its forehead reached the back of its neck and kept going. Rukia turned away when the Hollow's neck splintered and started to break, his throat hanging out. With one last twist, Ichigo tore the head clean off, the crimson spray of fresh blood soaking him. But he loved it.

Before the Hollow even hit the ground, Ichigo tore his hand into its stomach and exposed its internal organs to daylight. It was dead long before it hit the ground. Ichigo stood back watching the Hollow's body vanish from this world. He panted, but not from exerting so much energy. It was from the rush of it all. He hadn't killed enough yet. He still wanted more.

Like honey to ants, he had attracted the attention of the monsters in the dense street. Hollows swarmed, all wanting to sink their teeth into something living. They were all challenging him. Ichigo looked around, pleased. He intended to leave not even one alive. His hands red with blood and his face slowly becoming hidden by the mask, Ichigo gave them his crazed smile. This was going to be fun. He leaned back and roared toward the sky.

Rukia couldn't stand this anymore. She ran towards Linnette. This had gone on too long. This was more than enough. Now the Hollows were becoming hostile. She had to stop the song.

Ignoring the Hollows swarming around her, Rukia bolted toward Linnette, her hand outstretched.

"Linnette!"

Her hand made contact with her jacket and pulled her off the bench. Off balance, Linnette fell back into Rukia's chest, and her song finally stopped.

Rukia listened to the silence that came after her song ended and looked around, hopeful. The Hollows were still here and they were still active. Her song stopped. They should have returned to normal, right? Something didn't feel right.

Linnette stood up facing Rukia. "Um, hi?"

Rukia turned. "Hi."

She studied Rukia's face. "You're Ichigo's friend, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

She smiled. "Hi! Any friend of Ichigo's is a friend of mine! Right? Did I say that right? Victor told me to say it to people who are friends of my friends. Did it sound weird? I've never used it before."

"Linnette… your song…"

She smiled happily. "Isn't it great? I got it back! I've been singing for…" She looked down at her hands for a watch. She wasn't wearing one. "I don't know for how long, but I lost track of time anyway. Why'd you pull on me like that?"

Rukia looked Linnette over, curiously. This girl really didn't seem to be aware of the Hollows or the situation. "Linnette, you know that your voice controls Hollows, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. But I'm just singing for fun this time. Victor told me I could. I'm just having fun."

"Victor told you, huh?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Where is he now?"

Linnette looked back at the bench. "Um… I don't really know. He was right here a second ago. He said he wanted to hear me sing." She looked up at the sky. "Why's it so cloudy?"

She was only just noticing the fog.

"So you have no idea what's going on?"

"Going on with what?" she asked innocently.

Rukia took her shoulders and turned her body toward the street. Her jaw dropped and she gave a small whimper. There was a fog stretching from corner to corner on the entire block, fencing them in and Hollows were everywhere in between. Linnette saw all the cars and all the destruction.

"What is all this? Where'd they come from?"

"You don't know?" Rukia asked.

Linnette turned back to her, shaking her head. "No! I had no idea this was going on. I didn't see them here a moment ago. I don't know how long I was singing but… Did my voice attract all of them?"

Rukia shook her head. "Not all of them."

Linnette looked confused.

"You see… most of these Hollows are people. The same people you were talking to today and playing with. They're all Hollows now."

"What? No! How did that happen? Did I really do that? I didn't mean to! I swear!" Linnette wasn't acting. She really meant it. She truly had no idea what was going on. "My voice can't create Hollows, only control them. I can't… I don't know how this happened…"

Rukia sighed giving her a look of pity. "Victor did this."

"Huh? How?"

"He made something in the form of a smoke bomb to turn human beings into Hollows for you to sing to. He needed you to sing so that it would work. Your song turned them into this."

"How did he do that? Why would he do that?" Linnette turned back to the Hollows roaring in the street. "If I had known I never would have done it! I don't understand why he would… Why did he do this?"

"I guess he thought that you would have wanted the attention you had last time so he made these Hollows for you. And all of these Hollows are humans. They're attacking each other, they're attacking their families, their friends…"

"How could he think that would make me happy?" she cried. "All these people… I never wanted this! All these people were starting to like me and become my friends. They were nice to me. Now they're… This isn't what I wanted at all!"

Ichigo was tossed through the air above them and landed on top of Kisuke's van, laughing his head off. "Come here! Come here and let me kill you!" He charged right back into the fray, fighting anything he could get his hands on.

"Oh, Ichigo!" Linnette wailed. "He's… Oh, this isn't what I wanted at all! Now he's just like them!" She turned back to Rukia. "He told me not to… he said that if I was nice to people and didn't try to control them, I would make real friends! I promised him and…" She looked back at Ichigo fighting with another Hollow, his orange hair now halfway down his back. "Now he's going to hate me! He's going to hate me for what I've done!"

"So you really didn't want this to happen?" Rukia asked softly.

"No! Now all the friends I've made are going to end up killing each other and leave me! And if they even change back to normal, like Ichigo, they'll all… he'll… hate me! Ichigo will never forgive me for this! This is all wrong! I worked so hard to make friends and now..!"

A roar interrupted them. Byakuya was back and just as fierce as ever. He lowered himself to the ground and got ready to attack Rukia. She pulled out her gun and shot him in the neck. The dart hit its mark, but Byakuya wasn't changing back.

"Brother, please! Stop! Calm down!"

He growled and charged in for the attack. Kisuke and Uryu showed up at the same time, kicking Byakuya in the neck and sending him flying. Like a turtle on his shell, Byakuya was finding it difficult to get back on his feet. Uryu and Kisuke watched Byakuya for any signs of change. Nothing was happening.

Uryu looked back. "There's no change in her brother, Renji."

Renji limped over to them, still clutching his stomach, the blood oozing through the bandages. "I thought they were supposed to change back when she stopped singing. What gives?"

"Maybe it's a delayed reaction or something," Kisuke thought aloud.

Rukia felt a tug on her arm and saw Linnette giving her a pitiful look. "That's you're brother..?"

She nodded.

Linnette looked at Renji's wound. All of his wounds. New tears appeared in her eyes. This time of sadness. Sorrowful tears.

"I didn't mean it. I'm so sorry… I'm really, really sorry. I didn't… I didn't mean it…"

Rukia held her in her arms, allowing Linnette to cry into her shoulder. She truly didn't want this. She felt so sorry for everything.

The others watched her in silence until a crash sounded from overhead. Everyone looked up.

Victor and Cedric were still going at it. They were causing even more destruction than the Hollows were.

Linnette looked up, following the two's movements with her eyes. "Are they… Why are Victor and Cedric doing that? It looks like they're fighting each other. But they would never…"

Renji shook his head. "They are."

"But why?"

"Because Victor thinks that you would be happy if he turned all these people into Hollows and Cedric doesn't. They're fighting to see who's right. And Victor said that he was going to kill Cedric."

"But I thought they couldn't die," Rukia said.

Uryu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Think about it. Who better to kill an immortal than another immortal? They are creations and every creation has a breaking point. Eventually someone's going to wear the other one down and when that happens he could succeed in destroying the other."

Linnette gasped and turned her body towards them, following the movements of their fight. She was worried for them. This wasn't what she wanted at all. None of this was her wish.

Kisuke watched the two take their fight out of sight, another crash sounding in the distance. "We'd better stop them."

* * *

><p>Cedric flew at Victor with all his might. Picking up an abandoned car, Victor swung it like a bat and sent Cedric flying into another building. He clawed his way out, picking broken glass out of his face and neck. He jumped down, taking part of the window out with him. Victor jumped aside and grabbed Cedric from behind. He forced him to turn his way.<p>

"You disgust me, Cedric. You don't want her to be happy at all. All you care about is yourself and what you want her to be."

"Not true. My relationship with Linnette is nothing like that. I only have her best interests in mind, which is exactly what she wanted me to be! That's my role! That's what I'm supposed to do."

"Pathetic." He smashed Cedric's face into the ground before throwing him aside. Cedric slammed into a truck tipping it over onto its side. "Don't you get it?" Victor asked, spreading his arms wide. "All this attention is what true happiness is. This is what she wants. This is her joy! Your way would never work out in the long run. Sooner or later everyone would leave her and then what will she have? Nothing! Controlling people is the only way to do it! The Hollows love her for her song and would never hurt her! I want to keep that relationship intact. Her song must never stop!"

Cedric dashed towards him. "Doing that will only repeat history and that didn't turn out well for anyone, now did it? This is wrong, Victor, and you know it!"

As he moved to slice into his enemy, Victor sidestepped and grabbed a fistful of Cedric's hair, yanking him backwards. "You will never understand, will you? I am the only one who can give her want she wants. I can see that now."

He threw Cedric away. He flew in a straight line and straight into a broken bus-stop canopy, a metal pipe piercing through his stomach and out the other side. He was trapped. He couldn't brake the pipe or move his body to side out. He looked up at Victor who was walking towards him looking calm but disappointed.

"I have to do this. You cannot be allowed to remain if all you're going to do is cause her pain."

"I'm not!" Cedric choked. The pipe had cut open a lung by the feel of things. "Stop this!"

Victor stood in front of him not looking too concerned for his friend at all. "Look at you. Your body is falling apart. You cannot die, but if your body shatters it would be just the same for you. We've never fought each other before. It took it's toll, I see…" He held up his arm. "I'm sorry for this. But I have to…"

"Wait! Victor, stop! There's no reason to do this! She can be happy without her voice! Please hear me out!"

"Never! You're keeping her from being happy! Only I know what she wants and what will make her happy! I understand her! It's up to me now!" He got into position, ready to finish the fight at last. "I'll take care of her! I don't need you! She doesn't need you! I'll bring her the happiness she desires so badly!"

No need for him? Impossible. She wouldn't have created him if there wasn't a purpose.

"Victor, no! Don't!"

"Farwell, Cedric!"

"NO!"

The cry didn't come from Cedric. It came from their creator.

Linnette had thrown her arms around Victor's body, stopping the attack. She clung to him tightly, hiding her face in his back.

"Please, stop! No more! Please! Please, stop fighting… please…"

Victor turned and saw tears rolling down her face. Her fingers dug into his ribs like claws. Though it looked painful, he seemed less physically injured than mentally anguished.

His little diva was crying.

"I don't want you to fight each other! I need both of you! Please stop! Don't hurt him anymore! Please!" She sobbed into his back, letting the tears flow freely. "No more… please stop it…"

Victor lowered his arm. "Linnette…"

Rukia stood behind her silently. This was going to end. Now.

"Why are you doing this, Victor? Why are you trying to kill him?" Linnette sobbed.

"I… Linnette, I…" Victor searched for words. "I just thought that… you would be happy without him tying you down."

"No! Why would that..? I don't know what you mean!"

Victor turned around. "He doesn't want you to sing anymore and I know how much it makes you happy so…"

"No!" Linnette shook her head from side to side, her hair whipping her face with every turn. "I like singing, but it doesn't make me happy!"

Victor was taken aback by this. "It… what?"

"Not when it does this!" She pointed to the Hollows around them in the street. "I want people to like me! Not my song! I said that I wanted to learn how to be the person Ichigo wanted me to be because he said that I would be happier. And I was! I was happy without my singing voice! I was making real friends and people liked me and they didn't run away the first chance they got. They actually want to stay with me without being blackmailed. I want that to continue. I don't want you to turn people into Hollow so they'll stay with me and love me! I don't want that at all! I hate that! It upsets me, not makes me happy at all!"

Victor stared at her in disbelief. "But I… I did all that for you. I thought it would make you happy."

"No!" she cried. "The Hollows don't make me happy! I want the people! The people who were nice to me because I was kind to them. I like that a lot better! I was happier like that, Victor! I don't want these people to turn into Hollows! Now that all this has happened and to Ichigo, too… Now everyone will hate me and leave me!"

Linnette sobbed into her hands.

Her created guardian was silent. Then he knelt on the ground by her feet and took her hand. "I'm so sorry, Linnette. This is all my fault. I just wanted to make you happy. But now I see that I was wrong. Instead of making you happy I caused you pain. As your servant and guardian, I am supposed to prevent such things. But now…" Victor broken down. "I'm the one who caused them. I made you feel this way. I made you sad. I upset you. And that hurts me so much…"

And it did. It truly did. It felt like she had stabbed him with a knife and twisted it. His beloved held that knife. He caused these tears on her face. The very things he was created to stop. And he caused them. He was such a failure.

"Linnette…" Victor held her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. "I've failed you as your guardian. I'm so sorry. I can never make this up to you. I thought that I could make you happy like this. I was so wrong."

She sniffled. "I never asked for this. I never wanted this. Please make it stop, Victor."

Victor bowed his head. "Linnette, my princess. Wish me away."

"What?"

"Wish me away. It's the only way I can make amends for this. I don't deserve to be yours anymore. I failed you."

She shook her head and squeezed his hand back with both of hers. "I want you to stay! Don't leave me, Victor! Please! I just want them to change back and never have this happen again."

"But I can't serve you anymore. I'm not fit… Linnette. Cedric's the proper guardian for you. I acted on my own thinking that I would make you happy. I should have listened to what you wanted, not acted on what I thought would… be… Please, just wish me away. I don't deserve to be with you anymore."

"No! You want to make me happy, then stay!"

"It's not best…"

"She's right, Victor…" Cedric said from behind him. Victor turned his head to see Cedric smiling at him weakly. "She needs both of us. You were created with a purpose, same as I…"

Victor looked back to see more tears on her face. "But I…"

"Both of us. She needs us both, Victor. We balance each other out. We balance her. You want her happiness. So give it to her. She wants you to stay."

She nodded, hugging his hand tight to her chest, tears falling onto his fingers. She didn't want him to leave. She really did need him. Both of them. Cedric was right.

Roaming around aimlessly behind them was Byakuya. He managed to shake the dart free from his neck, the serum having no effect on him whatsoever. Growling softly, he paced the ground behind his sister, no longer interested in fighting.

"Brother…" Rukia whispered, watching him sadly. Was there no curing them this time?

She turned her gaze to Ichigo who, too, had lost the interest in fighting. Same went for the rest of the Hollows. Without her song, they no longer had any desire to do anything. They just wandered around. Ichigo hobbled over to the group, mask now completely covering his face. His transformation was very slow; even now, he was still in the process of changing. His body was distorted, half of him Hollowfied and the rest either slowly changing or still Soul Reaper. He was growling, but it wasn't a hostile growl.

They missed her song. They wanted to hear it again. More than that, they could sense that their princess was stressed and have come to stop it. Whatever was causing her distress, they wanted to rid her of it so she could sing her song again.

As they moved closer to Linnette, Renji took a step forward, as if about to stop them. Rukia and Uryu stopped him. There was no danger. Although, she wondered what Byakuya would do in this state. They watched.

Approaching her from either side, Ichigo and Byakuya both placed their heads at her shoulders. She turned, Byakuya nudging her like a dog wanting to be pet. She touched his mask, giving it a stroke. He purred. Unable to speak anymore, Ichigo simply lowered himself onto all fours and rubbed against her like a cat. His large armored body nearly knocked her off balance. He communicated to her through growls and small roars.

Linnette looked at both of them sadly. Even she could tell that they weren't themselves. As docile as they may have seemed at the moment, she knew it wasn't them. They were monsters. And Byakuya… Rukia's brother. Now he couldn't even speak. He couldn't recognize her. He wanted to kill her, his own sister.

"Ichigo…"

He didn't seem to understand. Didn't he know his own name anymore? Was he aware of anything? He attacked his friends, his family, just the same way Byakuya did. This was all wrong. What had she done? Her voice turned them into monsters.

Linnette started to cry all over again. "I'm so sorry!"

Byakuya wedged himself into her arms and she hugged his large head close. Ichigo growled softly and allowed her to lean against his massive body as she wept.

"I didn't mean it… I didn't mean to turn you into this!"

Feeling out of place, Victor stood back, hanging his head low. He was so ashamed.

While all this was going on, Kisuke had gone over to Cedric and tried to free him from the pipe caught in his gut. He couldn't budge it. "Hey, someone want to help me out here? Victor, care to free your buddy now?"

Victor silently went over and slit the metal bar in half from behind Cedric with one swipe of his hand. They pulled Cedric up and pushed the bar out of his stomach from behind. He stood uneasily, as if about to fall over again. He was still beaten up from their fight.

"Cedric."

He looked at Victor. "I know. I understand."

Victor nodded.

Kisuke put his arms around both of them. "Hooray, we're all friends again. Yippee. Now, getting back to the situation at hand…" He turned to Victor. "I tried curing these Hollows using the counter to your serum but it doesn't seem to be working. Did you change the formula at all from the last time?"

Victor shook his head. "I just put it in smoke from this time. It's the same thing as before, otherwise."

"Then I don't understand." Kisuke scratched his head. "They should have returned to normal by now in that case. She stopped singing."

"I've noticed it, too," Cedric said. "Her voice has a kind of delayed reaction to it. The effects take longer than it did before. It may just take a while."

"You think?"

He nodded.

Linnette had parted from the Hollows and had thrown herself into Victor again. "Please… please change them back. I don't want to see them like this anymore. They don't even know me anymore. Al they know is my voice. They don't know _me_." They had no memory of her prior to the song or their transformation. They only loved her because of her song. Without it, she was useless to them. They didn't even acknowledge her as a person, just a tool, but their princess nonetheless.

Victor hugged her. "Anything for my little… girl." He didn't call her 'diva' this time. That title's meaning had changed. It wouldn't be a term of endearment to her anymore.

She turned from Victor and hugged Cedric. "Are you ok? Please don't ever fight each other again."

"I would never do anything to upset you. You have my word."

While they hugged, Kisuke took note of how the Hollows were acting. Their behavior was off. Much of the growling had stopped. They seemed weaker.

Rukia took note of it, too, when Ichigo started to stagger over to them. He looked at Rukia with a growl. Uryu was ready with an arrow if he needed it. Though he never intended on killing Ichigo with it. Just wounding him.

He stared at Rukia's face. His white jaw moved up and down, only growls coming out.

"Ichigo," she whispered to him.

He took another step. "R… Ru… R… Ruki…a…"

She blinked. He actually spoke. A change. His situation seemed to be improving. "Ichigo. You know me?"

"Ru…ki…a… Rukia…" The glow in his eyes was beginning to fade. "I… don't… I don't… feel so good…"

"Ichi-" Before she could get his name out, he fell forward onto the ground with a loud thud. She stepped back in surprise. "Ichigo?"

His long hair was starting to shrink back to its normal length. His body was shrinking back to size as well. His white skin was fading and his mask was slowly breaking away.

"It worked. The serum worked!" She looked around for her brother.

He was staggering in the grass, trying to keep his footing. Giving a loud howl, he fell over sideways onto the ground. Rukia ran over to him. His mask broke away and vanished. His lizard-like body started to change back to human form.

"Kisuke, it's working on them!" Rukia called. "They're changing back!"

He looked around at the other Hollows. They, too, were slowly changing back into humans. "I can see that. Great news. Now all we have to take care of are the people inside." Kisuke dug around in his pocket and took out a handful of round yellow balls. He turned to Victor and Cedric. "Can I trust you two with a task?"

They exchanged looks.

"I need you both to get these into those buildings across the street. The mall in our top priority. These will alter everyone's memories inside so they won't remember anything Hollow related. Those humans can't be allowed to remember what happened here, got it?"

They nodded, taking the golf ball-sized orbs.

"Just toss them inside. They're smoke bombs. It just alters memory. They shouldn't effect you."

"We're not concerned with that."

"Leave it to us."

They both vanished.

Kisuke turned back to the quickly vanishing Hollows in the street. "These guys shouldn't have memories, either. I imagine they'll be pretty confused when they wake up, but that's their problem. I just want to make sure the humans who escaped are taken care of."

"What about Ichigo and my brother?" Rukia asked.

Kisuke turned to find her cradling his head in her lap. Byakuya was looking like his old self again, only unconscious. "Load them into my van. We'll take them back to the shop with us. We'll all touch base there."

Uryu and Rukia worked together to lift Byakuya into the van along with Ichigo. Renji hopped in with them, still holding onto his stomach with one hand, complaining the whole time. Kisuke handed Renji his zanpakuto, claiming to have found it under a car. They all piled inside, ready to roll. Kisuke took one last look at Linnette and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. They'll be fine."

She gave him a tearful look. "They won't hate me for this, right? Not even Ichigo?"

He shook his head, still smiling. "You'd be surprised how forgiving he is. He's not going to hate you. And even if he does, it's no matter. He hates Renji and Uryu, too, and they're best friends. Just goes to show you, huh?" He got into the van, slamming the door shut. "Don't worry. Everything will work out. You'll see."

Linnette's servants reappeared on either side of her, a hand on each of her shoulders.

"Take care of her, you two." Kisuke started up the engine.

"Always."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

Picking her up in his arms, Victor jumped into the air, carrying her off like a princess with Cedric at his side.

* * *

><p>Almost done. Please review! ^^<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

So far, every human being had been returned to normal and no one remembered a thing. There were two little boys, however, featured on the news claiming to have seen a giant monster within the fog, but on account of their age, their story was dismissed. This was good for Kisuke and the others. They were the only ones who knew what really happened.

Kisuke clicked off the TV and went into the next room to speak to the others. "Good news. The media are calling the fog a freak isolated incident. People are claiming it to be either an elaborate prank or a chemical spill of some sort. They said it was nothing to worry about so no one's looking into it. We're in the clear. And since no one can agree on a story, that means Linnette's group was able to wipe everyone's memory."

"What happened to her anyway?" Renji asked.

He shrugged. "Who knows? I wanted them to meet up with us, but I think Linnette still feels guilty about this whole thing. It wasn't all her fault, though. Yes, it was her voice that did this, but the humans wouldn't have changed had it not been for Victor."

"So they're both at fault."

"At least no one was killed."

"But what about them?" Rukia looked down at her brother. "Are they going to be ok? They haven't moved since they changed back. They haven't even woken up once in all this time."

Kisuke looked down at the two on the ground. After returning to the shop, they had helped the unconscious Ichigo and Byakuya into a couple spare futons and waited for any further signs of change. So far, they appeared to be in a coma, never moving once, no matter how much they were poked and prodded. Byakuya was laying beside Ichigo, both covered up to their chest in blankets, flat on their backs. Rukia never moved from that spot beside her brother or Ichigo. She kept her eye on them constantly.

"Couldn't tell you. I'm sure they'll wake up at some point. I mean, they all did before, right? It's just taking a while this time around."

"Never mind that!" Renji snapped. "What are we going to do about that girl?"

"What would you want us to do?" Kisuke asked. "She's still human. She really hasn't done anything illegal, just a rather big inconvenience to everyone around her. The Soul Society can't really do anything about it. Besides, it was Victor who made that virus. Linnette was only the trigger."

Renji looked away. "I guess…"

"Besides, she said she was sorry and I believe her."

Rukia nodded. "I think she meant it. It was genuine."

"Whether she means it or not, she still did this!" Renji pointed at the two laying on the floor. "Shouldn't something be done? A punishment or whatever?"

"What do you want? She already thinks that everyone's going to hate her now because of all this," Rukia told him. "She agreed to change for Ichigo. He's the one who convinced her that her old way of life was wrong."

"Couldn't she tell that from the beginning herself? She stupid or something?"

Kisuke shook his head. "Think about it. She grew up in an orphanage. No one adopted her and one day she ran away and no one ever bothered to look for her. She lived on the street where no one gave a damn about her. How do you think that made her feel? When she was taken to a new orphanage, the same thing happened; no one adopting her. Everyone else went but her. I would think someone like you who grew up in a similar way would understand how she must have felt."

It took Renji a longer time than it did Rukia to understand what he meant. They both grew up on the street where no adult ever gave a damn about them and life was rough. They felt so alone and helpless. But they didn't live in the city like she did. No rules and regulations to follow like in the World of the Living. Rukia knew what it must have been like for her. She was bullied often, too. She could understand why Linnette would invent her own family that would allow her to do whatever she wanted without punishment. She wanted to be happy.

"Her servants were created to make her happy, Renji. She was only a child. She didn't understand these sort of things. Little kids are only interested in self-gratification. They need to be taught things. They don't automatically know. That's what parents are for."

Rukia nodded. "And her servants were only created for her enjoyment. They never told her 'no' or established rules because they knew it would make her unhappy. No kid ever likes being told 'no'. All they taught her was that she could do whatever she wanted."

"That's right. Then Ichigo came along and told her a different story. It changed the way she thought." Kisuke sat down with the group. "All this time, they've been telling her that she could do no wrong and that everything she did was perfectly fine. She didn't know how to make friends. They told her that the best way to keep Ichigo from leaving was to control him using fear and intimidation. They blackmailed him into making him stay with her. But he kept trying to sneak off." He let out a sigh. "So Ichigo told her later that the best way to make friends was to be nice to people and be a friend first, that way they wouldn't run off the first chance they got. They would want to be with her. I think that was what she figured out."

"I noticed that, too," Rukia said. "She was a lot kinder to people. She was learning what it was like to be a friend to people."

He nodded. "Yup. And it's made her a happier person. That's what those two were reprogrammed to be this time around. They're raising her rather than pleasing her. She doesn't know this stuff, she needs to be taught."

Renji was quiet for a while, letting it all soak in. "Yeah, I guess you're right… She looked really upset back there, though. Remember, at the mall place?"

"She must have thought that by doing what was guaranteed to lose her friends, that she would end up losing all the ones she had." Uryu pushed his glasses back up his nose. "She was in tears, convinced that everyone would hate her now that she's done this. She was afraid that Ichigo, too, wouldn't forgive her and all of her hard work would be for nothing. She wants friends so desperately and at the thought of losing them… and it being on account of her and her voice…"

"Yeah," Rukia sighed, knowing what he meant. The thought of her singing voice causing such destruction and driving all her newfound friends away must have been unbearable. Even thinking that they would end up killing each other as Hollows or spending the rest of their lives as monsters that could no longer recognize her; just a bunch of mindless carnivores, must have been even worse for her to cope with.

She heard a moan and looked down. "Brother?"

Byakuya's head turned slightly to one side, his lashes fluttering. He gave another moan.

"Brother?"

His eyes opened slightly and turned her way. "… Ruk… ia..?"

"Yes, I'm right here…" She took his hand gently. His fingers coiled around her hand lightly. He had little strength.

"What happened?" he asked weakly.

"It's ok. We stopped Linnette's song. Everything's ok now."

He blinked again. "I can't… remember anything. What happened after we went into that fog?"

Kisuke moved closer to him. "What's the last thing you do remember?"

"Uh…" He shut his eyes, thinking. "Um… we were going into the fog… I remember feeling really sick and… I remember hearing a voice. Some sort of song. And then… Nothing. I can't remember any further than that."

"Nothing at all?"

"No."

"Then you don't remember me kicking you in the face when you tried to go after Rukia?" Renji asked.

Byakuya opened his eyes again. "What?"

"Nothing."

"You don't remember turning into a Hollow or anything?"

Byakuya gave his head a shake. "No… Did I? I remember you telling me that the humans became Hollows but… I became one as well?" He looked at his hand. He studied it close. "I don't feel any different. Are you certain? I look the same and if I…"

Kisuke smiled. "Forget about it. Everyone else has."

Byakuya groaned softly. "I feel so weak…"

"Just rest," Rukia told him quietly. "I'll look after you."

Kisuke's smiled spread. "You should believe that. She hasn't left your side all this time. She's been taking care of you the whole while. She's a good nurse."

Byakuya turned his gaze toward Rukia. He saw the look of love and concern on her face and felt his heart beat. She cared that much about him? She did all that and took care of him? How considerate. But even more than that. Even more then he could put into words. He truly appreciated it. "Rukia. Thank you."

She looked so surprised to hear that from him. Byakuya rarely thanked anyone for anything. It wasn't that he was rude. He just had a habit of only thanking those who he felt were deserving of the Kuchiki word of gratitude. Mostly, it was others thanking him. He didn't want the clan to appear weak, needed other's assistance. To be thanked by him was truly an honor. So much so that she didn't know how to respond.

"It's no trouble, brother. You're very welcome." She looked away, blushing.

There was a shuffling noise and they all looked up, watching Ichigo roll over, flopping onto his stomach. He still wasn't awake. Kisuke poked him.

"Ichigo?"

He moaned in protest and batted him away with his hand. He buried his face in his pillow and drooled.

Kisuke chuckled. "Well put. I think we should let him wake up when he wants to. He's just sleeping now."

Byakuya frowned, Ichigo's face now turned towards him, his mouth hanging open, drool flooding the pillow. "How uncouth. Has he no class?"

"You should rest more, too," Kisuke told him, getting up. "You're still pretty weak. I wouldn't suggest doing any strenuous activity until you have the energy to stand at the very least."

It was true. Byakuya was feeling very weak. He didn't even have the strength to move his own legs. It wouldn't be wise to try and prove otherwise. He knew when to stay down.

Rukia touched his hand again. "I'll be right here if you need anything."

Nodding, Byakuya closed his eyes and went back to sleep within seconds.

* * *

><p>Two hours later, Byakuya woke up again, hearing a strange noise next to his ear. Turning his head, he saw Ichigo, still asleep, chewing on his sleeve. Pulling his sleeve free, Byakuya muttered in disgust. "That drooling idiot got it all wet with his… A slobbering mutt has more class than him."<p>

The door opened and in came Rukia with a glass of water in both hands. She set them down quietly on the table. Uryu came in next with a tray of food. Rukia glanced up, noticing Byakuya. "Oh, you're awake. Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No. He did." He gestured to Ichigo still drooling on the floor.

"Oh." She pointed to the table. "We brought you some food if you're hungry. Do you want some water?"

Before he could answer, Ichigo's nose twitched, smelling food. His eyes finally opened and he sat up looking around.

"Are you finally up, Ichigo? You're so lazy!"

"I have to agree," Uryu added. "Even the captain was up before you. Twice. Just how indolent could you be?"

Ichigo shot them both a look. Then he looked at the food on the table. He crawled over to it in an instant. "I'm starving." He started grabbing as much food as he could without a care as to how he must have looked.

"He only got up to eat…"

"We should have tried that sooner."

Wordlessly, Byakuya sat at the head of the table and looked at the food. It wasn't much and it wasn't very refined. But his growling stomach didn't care. He ate at a much slowing pace than Ichigo, who was shoving as much as he could into his mouth with both hands.

"I feel like I haven't eaten in a week!" Ichigo gulped down some water. "What happened in that fog anyway? I blacked out around the time Byakuya started to change. What's the story?"

"Everyone's back to normal, Linnette managed to stop Victor on her own by telling him that it wasn't what she wished and we haven't seen them since."

"Ah." Ichigo grabbed a sandwich off the half empty plate. "No one knows where they are?"

"Mr. Urahara invited her over here but she's declined it seems," Uryu said. "She must be too afraid to show her face to us after what happened."

While the others filled him in, Kisuke walked passed the room and over to the front of the store. Someone was standing outside the shop, refusing to go in.

Kisuke stepped outside. "Oh, it's you."

Victor and Cedric were standing in front of the shop, Linnette hiding behind them.

Putting a hand on the back of her shoulder, Victor prompted her forward. "Go on, dear. He's not going to bite."

She shook her head and hid her face in his back.

Cedric answered for them. "She's still very upset over what happened. She doesn't think that Ichigo will want to see her again."

"Nonsense," Kisuke smiled. "He's doing ok. He's inside right now. I'm sure he'll want to see her."

Linnette peeked out at Kisuke. "Does he… Does Ichigo hate me?"

He shook his head. "Of course not. Go see for yourself. I'll show you the way. And if you're hungry, we have snacks."

She shyly hid behind Victor again. He gave her a sad look before turning to face Kisuke. "We managed to convince her to come this far but… As you can see…"

"I understand."

Victor swallowed. "I came because I wanted to give my own apology to the others. I know that what I did was wrong. And I feel terrible for causing Linnette such distress. I want to make amends."

Nodding, Kisuke stepped aside, allowing them to past. Only none of them moved. "Please come in."

Linnette shook her head, still hiding her face in Victor's back.

Cedric got down on bended knee to whisper to her. Whatever he said to her managed to bring her out of hiding but not much else. He pointed to the shop, whispering. She said something back to him and he answered her. Still, she refused to come inside. She kept making quick glances back the way they had come, as if plotting a fast getaway.

Taking matters into his own hands, Kisuke approached them. Cedric got to his feet when he saw the shopkeeper coming. He stood in front of them, smiling at Linnette. He kept his voice gentle. "Even if you don't want to see the others, at least come in for a snack. I have plenty of candy. I'll sell it to you cheap. Just kidding." He laughed at his own joke. "But really, come in. You don't have to talk to anyone if you don't want to. I won't force you."

She took a step out from behind her inhuman shield.

"I'll walk with you if you want. And these guys won't leave you for a second."

She took another step. "I do want to talk to Ichigo. But…" She looked down.

"I promise, he won't yell at you." He smiled. "Hey, after everything that happened the last time, he didn't end up hating you. And this wasn't nearly as bad so how could he possibly be mad? I know he wants to see you. He's been asking about you."

"Really?" She looked surprised and a bit excited to hear that.

"No lie. Come inside and you'll see."

Taking both their hands, Linnette was led inside by her two servants. They stepped inside, removing their shoes. Linnette eyed the candy display on her way in. Kisuke showed them to the room where the others were all talking.

"Ichigo!"

"What?"

"Really…"

"What? I'm hungry."

"Still."

"What's your problem, Rukia?"

"Want some more water, brother?"

"Don't ignore me!"

Kisuke opened the door. "Everyone, we have a guest."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up. Standing behind Linnette, her two servants gently pushed her inside. She gripped their hands tightly and tried to wedge herself between them as much as possible as if trying to disappear. Her two shields had left her completely vulnerable. She caught Ichigo's eye and quickly looked down. Backing up even further, she stepped on Cedric's toes. She could go no further. And she couldn't look any of them in the eye.

Ichigo spoke to her as if speaking to a frightened animal. "Hey, how you doing?"

She looked up.

He was smiling at her, his face calm. "Glad to see you. I was worried about you."

She gave a little whimper. Then… "I'm very sorry!" She threw herself forward into a bow. The only thing keeping her from falling face-first into the ground were the two holding her hands from behind. They pulled her back up simultaneously. "I didn't mean it! Really! I'm really, really, very sorry."

"No harm done."

She looked shocked. "Huh?"

Ichigo nodded casually. "Yeah. I mean, I'm not a Hollow anymore and everyone's back to normal and you said you were sorry."

"You mean… You mean you're not mad at me?"

"Nope." Ichigo looked very sincere. "You said you're sorry. If you're sorry and mean it, I can't be mad at you." He held up a tray of cookies. "Want one?"

"But…" Linnette still looked anxious. "I thought you'd be furious with me. I thought that you'd all hate me for turning you into a Hollow and all the stuff that happened outside the mall."

"Nah. It's over and you're not going to do it again, right?" Ichigo knew that he was being lenient with her, but he had good reason to. He needed her to know that apologizing wouldn't lead to bad things and that she would be forgiven if she meant it. He wanted her to be reassured. It was good for her to experience that. Plus, seeing how sorry she truly was, Ichigo knew that this would never happen again. This in itself was the repercussion. She was so afraid of losing friends and being hated that he knew she would never do it again.

"So… you don't hate me? At all?"

"Nope."

"None of you?"

The others around her nodded.

"We don't hate you at all," Rukia smiled. "You don't have to worry."

Linnette looked up at Victor and Cedric who smiled lovingly at her. She smiled in turn.

"Do you want to stay?" Cedric asked her.

She nodded shyly and joined the others at the table.

Victor moved behind Ichigo and whispered a quick and quiet 'sorry' to him.

Ichigo turned. "Huh?"

"I apologize for my actions. I see now that I was in the wrong. Instead of making her happy, I caused her pain. For all that and for what I've done to you, I apologize."

Ichigo accepted his apology and poured Linnette a glass of water.

* * *

><p>Afterwards, the group saw the trio outside. It was getting late and had to retrieve their belongings for the long ride home.<p>

Cedric looked at his watch. "The plane leaves at 8:00."

"Got the tickets?" Victor asked.

He pulled them out of his pocket. "Right here."

"Good." Victor turned to Linnette. "Have everything you brought with you and anything you're taking back?"

She nodded, holding up a free candy bar. "Yup."

"Shoes on?"

"Check."

"Bag?"

"Double check."

"Good." He patted her head. He looked back at the group. "We'll be off."

Ichigo made his way to the front of the group. "So you're going back to New York?"

"Yup. Better get going or we'll miss our flight."

"We have to check out of the hotel, too. Let's not forget that." Cedric looked down at Linnette. "All set? Did you say you're good-byes?"

She nodded sadly. "Yeah…" She looked back at Ichigo.

For a long time, they stared at each other. Then Ichigo smiled and gave her a wave. "I'll be seeing you. You know where to find me."

Smiling, Linnette nodded and waved back. "Good bye, everyone!"

Everyone waved and said their final farewells.

Cedric bent down and picked Linnette up in his muscular arms. Victor stroked her cheek lovingly.

"Hey, guys!" Ichigo called out.

They turned.

"Be good to her, alright?"

For once, Ichigo saw both Victor and Cedric smile twin grins full of love and compassion back at him.

"Always and forever."

Turning to each other, they nodded and sprang into the air, carrying off Linnette in a safe embrace.

Everyone went back inside, but Ichigo remained where he was for another minute. Rukia stepped beside him.

"Are you worried?"

He gave an honest answer. "No."

"Because she is being raised right this time and knows right from wrong now?"

"There's that."

"What else?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I can't put it into words. But I'm not worried at all."

She gave a small nod. "How's your Hollow?"

"Quiet."

"Good." She smiled to herself, looking out over the buildings. "So… how was the first kiss, Ichigo?"

His eye twitched. "Shut up."

* * *

><p>Riding on top of her large suitcase, Cedric dragged Linnette out to the curb in front of the hotel. He looked both ways before spotting Victor driving up in their rented car. The trunk and back doors opened. Linnette hopped off as Cedric started to pile everything inside. They did a final check, making sure nothing was left behind. As the two men went over the final details together, Linnette looked up at the sky.<p>

It was getting dark. Twilight was such a pretty time, she thought. As she looked up, she could have sworn she saw a Soul Reaper jumping through the air and vanish, almost like a guardian angel watching over the town. It was too fast to tell. She inhaled the sweet air through her nose and let out a sigh. It was peaceful here. She wanted to come back and visit again soon.

She heard the trunk slam shut behind her and Cedric checking his watch, giving them the time.

"The airport next?"

"Yup."

She swallowed. She still had her voice. She knew that. But she didn't want to use it. Not unless she needed to. She planned to sing to Victor at home in a private concert, but only on the condition that he never do anything to alter anyone or anything again for the sake of entertainment. And seeing how upset he was for upsetting her, it was safe to say that he wouldn't. She liked singing. But she loved the friends she made even more.

She was truly happy now. No stage was needed. She was happy as she was.

And with these two men at her side, she felt like she could conquer anything. She was safe, loved and happy.

"Ready to go, sweetie?" Victor asked.

Giving Karakura Town one final look, Linnette took in a deep breath and nodded. She stepped into the car. Victor closed the door and after making sure she was buckled in nice and tight, he drove off. Linnette looked out the back window as they drove away, watching the buildings pass by and shrink into the distance. She ripped open her candy bar and started eating.

This was the life.

* * *

><p>The End! ^-^<p>

What did you think? Please review!


End file.
